TBB Mission: To Entertain, Educate and Inspire. Aim to at least do one well!
The ridiculous race is on to get readers to click on the SPG Amex 30k affiliate links! Make fun of them and enter to win two AA Admirals Club passes! GREAT odds, only 29 valid entries! Update: Let’s wrap up this baby, went on too long. Deadline is August end of day Wednesday August 21st. Say anything you want now to enter!
If you like what you see here, please let others know by passing them a link to my blog, thank you!
True to the TBB mission, it is a consensus over on Twitter that the comments in the last three blog posts have been wildly entertaining and educational! Check here, here and here
TRAVEL
Visit the World Testicle Cooking Championship, hurry! Or Balls Cup as it is more widely known. I thought about adding a picture but…decided against because TBB never goes negative lol.
Ok, you know how I feel about comped trips. You also know the absurd fascination I have had about North Korea. So, I debated with myself whether I should share this with my readers. I decided for it because, well, it is quite fascinating indeed! I had no idea Koryo Tours offers comped trips. If they offered me one, I would have to think long and hard whether to take it. If it was any other destination I probably would not think much about it and turn it down. So, read it knowing this please. Wandering Earl does North Korea.
7 Characters you meet at every Hostel. This is hilarious and probably very spot on as I do have some friends who do the hostel thing. Made me laugh a lot. Here they are and their catchphrases:
- Puke-and-Rally Ken Doll – “Oy! Take a shot ye cunt!”
- The Puppy Litter – “Oh my God, I should NOT drink vodka tonight. I’ll have a vodka tonic, please.”
- The Seed Money – “Oh yeah, that sounds really cool. Maybe I’ll come join you guys later.”
- Uncle Willy – “Want me to crack your back? It’ll align your chakras or some shit. Here, watch, bend over.”
- The Soul Searcher – “Maybe this subtle self-deprecation will be cathartic enough to help me figure out what I’m doing here.”
- The Artificial Intelligence – “Nice to meet you man! Add me on Facebook!”
- The Mossy Stone – “I’ve overstayed my visa by a year, but I’ll figure it out eventually.”
The 23 Photos That Will Make Your Eyes Pop Out. Well, I gotta tell you…my eyes did pop out!
MILES/POINTS
Thoughtful post by Frequent Miler about his questioning Delta Loyalty. Well, it’s about time. You are just entrenched in superior elite slut syndrome. Been there, done that. But there comes a breaking point when an airline does not treat you with respect and you get mad as hell and you can’t take it anymore! Remember, this is the company that has not invested a freaking penny in its (deliberately) broken award search engine. I got my award ticket to Greece yesterday. 10 minutes max for 100k Business class on the United site. I did not even dare try Delta’s, could not bear the indignation and mockery directed at me. Flying coach domestic is not going to kill us, free agency baby. Blow miles internationally flying up front (not always, remember a family of four). All the $110k spend on the Delta cards could get you SOOOOOOO much more bang elsewhere. And glad to see you are not moving to California. Makes our Ann Arbor city real estate taxes look like peanuts!
Five hotel chains where award nights count for elite status. By Loyalty Traveler. Very nice helpful summary.
Yes: Choice, Hilton, Starwood, IHG Rewards, Accor
No: Best Western, Hyatt, Marriott, Wyndha, Club Carlson (Cash & Points DOES count)
Miles Adventures tries hopelessly to use his Delta Skymiles Skypesos to fly to Rwanda only to be repeatedly shot down. Reason # 845 to give up on this mileage currency. Stop going back to it, come on. It will be really cool to see gorillas but $750 per day, seriously? “My patience was severely tested as award space magically appeared and disappeared, “married” segments became unbookable, or the award priced at the Mid or High level instead of Low. Using the Delta web site was a nightmare and Delta agents were unhelpful (though they were uniformly very pleasant).” Yes, we know 🙂
ON MY MIND
Blogging is all consuming. It is always ….there!
I didn’t do a darn thing about the non content aspects of the blog. Again.
Thank you for all the support. Even the haters for taking the time to express themselves. TBB loves free expression.
FREE PUSSY RIOT! Ok, I always wanted to say this 🙂
ODDZ & ENDZ
15 CGI Artworks That Look Like Photographs. Well, you learn something new every day. “At the intersection of art and technology you will find the incredible work of CGI artists. These artists are blurring the lines of reality with 3D renderings that look so realistic they are near impossible to distinguish from a photograph. As computer processing power grows exponentially, ground-breaking software is constantly evolving to harness it.This is allowing artists to push the limits of what is possible in computer-generated imagery. Below you will find a showcase of some of the most talented CGI artists in the industry today. Online communities such as CG Society and CG Hub are great places to discover emerging talents in this exciting field. Be sure to click through to each artist’s profile to see more of their impressive work.”
Minimum Wages Around the World Interesting!
BLOB BUZZ
Actually, I can tolerate One Mile at a Time‘s Top 10 Credit card list once a month. I see the non affiliate cards have made it. I think the Fairmont card belongs in there but oh well. Could be worse, lot worse 🙂 Now, let’s go back to the hot nuts!
Thank you Marshall Jackson on Travel for reminding us that there are only two weeks left to get (what else?) the SPG Amex card. Hope the cruise is going well. And thanks for fully disclosing the word “affiliate link” next to the actual link. THIS is full disclosure imho, not burying it in an obscure place of the website where nobody will look for it (not that anyone actually does look for it but that’s beside the point!). Here I go TBB being “negative” again. Yawn.
Frugal Travel Guy (the blog) continues its epic countdown of feeding its readers a credit card per day. My mother always told me growing up “an apple a day makes the doc go away”. No wonder I can not eat apples anymore 🙂 Oh, let me get back to my point. Here it is (borrowed and slightly edited from a blog comment I made because I get lazy sometimes): Card #345 is the IHG Rewards (Priority Club) Visa. The inferior 60k link (that pays FTG the blog…yeah, I know, it is all disclosed blah blah blah) is shown FIRST and the “unofficial” so superior 80k link at FlyerTalk (that does NOT pay FTG) is just listed (bang, link takes you to page 80 of the thread…no wonder the reader will get scared & come…back to FTG!). Only that such move will COST the readers 20k IHG Rewards points! That is FOUR Pointbreaks nights!!! THIS is what drives TBB nuts! Some call it negative attacks; I call it educating (get it? The mission…) and spreading the word that such blogging practices hurt blog readers, the ones who have trusted the blog owners for advice how to TRAVEL FOR FREE! Hell yeah I am angry about this, I can’t help it. Readers should come FIRST. 24/7. To eternity. Yawn. You can call me Siskel.
Update: I stand corrected. There was no affiliate link provided! I eat crow. Again. I apologize. We all make mistakes 🙂 Here is the link for the 80k IHG Rewards card. Use the link on post #1, no need to hunt for it in page 80. You are all welcome. I swear that…, never mind.
Everybody but me apparently got a tour of an American Airlines Airbus A319 recently. Saw several bloggers posting about this.
Now excuse me while I go hypopimp my AdSense ads.
To infinity and beyond!
TBBUZZ (get it?)
a division of Hypopimp Enterprises (NYSE Symbol:PIMP)
first?
Is it a first? 🙂
Second!
Love how some bloggers have dug out the hot button topics to get some comment love… Kids in premium classes anyone?
If there is one aspect my tiny blog is kicking butt is my comments section! If you had asked me if I would get any comments at all when I started I would say probably not.
But then again, half of them are mine:-)
Thanks for the shout out George! I always learn something reading TBB….like the fact that apparently I need to move to Australia as soon as I can and get a minimum wage job.
That’s great, fits the Educate part of the mission:-)
I hear Australia is very expensive across the board and I realize why now!
Six is the new number three.
Lol, good one!
MMS can’t come up with anything original???? VFTW posted http://boardingarea.com/viewfromthewing/2013/08/07/quintuple-dipping-with-marriott-is-back-on-megabonus-free-nights-return/ two weeks ago, and this morning MMS posts http://millionmilesecrets.com/2013/08/20/how-to-stack-marriott-points/ — maybe he paid VFTW to write it? I can see it now — GaryGate!!!!
“MMS can’t come up with anything original????”
Umm…. no?
In other breaking news, the Berlin Wall was torn down
Coming up with good original content is really hard. Especially when you have a gazilion blogs all offering the same cards:-)
I picked a niche where coming up with content is easy,…So easy it is quite a bitch going through 600 blogs daily:-)
Need an assistant bot to go out and send me what I need to look at daily & then pick the ones that make it here…
I dream
Back from the beautiful island of Samos & chiming in on some recent posts & comments…
Oliver2002- Don’t get me started on kids in premium cabins! Shared a LH F cabin (FRA-IAD) with 2 very restless & vocal tykes. Not ideal but nothing that a good set of headphone & sense of humor could salvage. OTOH, their loud, rude a-hole of a father was not so easily ignored.
Raffles- Thanks for your blog! This US reader enjoys the unique perspective & content, even if not actionable from this side of the pond.
Turkish e-visas…meant to but forgot to order online & very glad I forgot. The line ( to the right of passport control) moved very quickly! Plus, I was able to I’d myself of 15 orphan Euros. From all I hear, getting one online can create all sorts of hassles, mostly from the receipts being rejected as not valid? YMMV
Was surprised or I’d I miss mention of Mr. Pickles bribe to share a list of seemingly out of date & previously published corp travel codes if you subscribe to his blog?
Finally, it was great see you at AA, George!
Glad I was able to make it back to & look forward to returning next year to the original & still best miles/points DO around.
Hi!
I would love to find out what you thought of Samos!
Thanks for taking the time to comment and it was great to see you too in Ann Arbor. Give me small DOs that are truly free anytime:-)
Samos was great!
Countless beaches (fyi, mostly pebbly vs sandy) and some pretty mountain villages. The weather was beautiful, warm but with a steady strong sea breeze. Even more beautiful were the locals, everyone we met was very nice, helpful with directions and once they found out we were from the States, needed to tell us when & where they lived there or visited.
The saddest part for me was I couldn’t find any galaktoboureko and very little lamb. Surprised to find that pork seems to be the mainstay of the island and their recipes used way more tomato sauce than I woulda guessed? Still, I enjoyed plenty of grilled octopus, sardeles and skordalia.
It was kind of a culture shock to go from the quiet of Samos to the heart of Istanbul.
AA really embodies what I love(d) about FT & what got me hooked on the kool-aid. Nice group of folks freely sharing tips & wisdom on a variety of topics in a relaxed atmosphere.(The Tour de Bacon wasn’t half bad either!)
Still boggles that mine that I found myself in AA yet never visited a CVS or Office Supply store. Isn’t that sacrilegious, especially for a NYCer who has to hunt for every VR card & has no nearby big box stores wit which to employ half of FM’s techniques
Speaking of which, I see that the F2B folks Charleston are reducing their absurd entry fee. :oP. Good thing I didn’t sign up right away….yeah
Samos sounds great! I have never been there. It does not appear to suffer from the gazillion tourist that over run other Greek islands.
The reason you did not find much lamb is because many now can not afford it! I do not remember the last time I had galaktoboureko! OMG, grilled octopus is my favorite, I am hungry now!
Absolutely agree about the FT spirit in the AA DO. Now we have mega conferences, 600 people who pay fees, sponsors, vendor booths (wtf!!) and presenters trying to impress the newbies to follow them and click on their credit cards. Pfft!
For the social aspects of course they are much fun but it does not feel right spending money (or miles/points) to fly, stay, admission fees & food/drinks, etc in order to learn how to travel…for free:-)
Good the F2B reduced the entry fee. When I first saw it I had the same feeling:-)
Thanks. Talk to you later.
check out deltapoints post for todays ridulous post of the day… he is advocating overpaying your credit balance by THOUSANDS (in his example he overpaid by $8500) to get a bigger credit limit to run bonuses faster.
this is horrible advice- theres many examples of ppl getting accounts closed for this (due to potential money laundering and user fraud by circumventing their established credit limit for you). Very dangerous advice especially since a card closed by the issuer really hurts your credit score.
another example of a blogger masquerading as an expert…
side note – i was going to post this warning on his site, but given that the “Great Firewall of Rene” would likely delete the comment, whats the point. too bad some of his readers who follow his advice will suffer as a result
Number 1 rule of blogs should be: DO NO HARM!
I have marked it for review of course. And I expect to shake my head again, it appears violently…again!
It will be nice for DP readers to read about expert mileage runner qualifications: More specifically: When the expert first heard the term “mileage run” and when the expert actually took the first one!
Subliminal message: I am still angry about that email. And I never get angry! And I can see how much time you spend on my blog, geesh!
My attorney friend last night at our soccer game sucked badly. He is over worked he said, lol.
Got a binder full of experts.
Yawn.
Jay, thanks for the heads up, I appreciate it!
@TBB gotta check after so many repeated infractions (gosh you sound Angry btw)
@Jay please do comment on the blog so I can add your IP to my IP Blacklist 🙂
>>>>>>>>>after so many repeated infractions
WTF! smh
>>>>>>>>gosh you sound Angry btw)
People who know me know very well I almost never get angry. Your 2nd email was completely and ridiculously over the top and yes, I am angry about it. Maybe an apology should be in order? That will really help things. I very quickly forgive others, we all have bad days:-)
This is the prime reason censoring is an awful practice. You refuse to learn new things and HELP your readers by improving your advice!
Everyone is welcome here, even haters who troll my blog for hours every day.
Now leave me alone to hypopimp lol.
@TBB to answer your question on MR. My 1st was not a MR but a segment run many years ago pre-merger when Silver was full status with NWA (one of the rare things we agree on). Then, after Silver on segments had to go for GM & PM and that needed some MRs.
Thanks for attempting to answer my question 🙂
I would attach the world “beloved” to NWA before I ever dared to put it in the same sentence to Delta.
I am messing with ya. No emails like that and we ‘ll be peachy.
TBB will continue to review blogs…maybe. Future is uncertain, take it day to day.
Enjoy chicago seminar. I have arranged with some TBB groupies to ask you “What do you think of Travel Blogger Buzz”.
Like I said, messing around.
Later
Getting an account closed by the issuer does not really hurt your credit score. Having an account closed by an issuer has no more effect on your FICO score than closing the account yourself. FICO does not score the remarks section of the account. The only negative effect to closing an account is that the credit line for the account no longer counts in your utilization (once the account balance is $0). So by losing the credit line, your utilization percentage could go up depending on your other accounts. In 10 years time (on average), the account will fall off of your credit report and that will affect your AAoA, but that is not an immediate effect.
On a manual review, someone could wonder why your account is noted “closed by issuer” but that is unlikely to cause a problem unless you have a lot of those. For all they know, it was closed due to inactivity. Sometimes it will expressly state so, but I have had accounts closed due it inactivity that just say closed by issuer. In any event, it does not affect your score.
Thanks, this is very helpful info!
Good morning from PDX! Got to the airport easily and through checkin quickly. Nobody weighed our roller bags so so far, so good. My worries that our award tix would miraculously disappear were unfounded despite various warnings on FT that this happens as well as a few blog posts – happened to some blogger’s parents recently….
TSA line was long for us plebs without status or global entry but moved fast. Good thing; MrTWA44 forgot to eat the yogurts he packed before we went through and he had time to leave me all the stuff and go through a second time.TSA employees were polite and even funny and helpful; reminded MrTWA44 to take a spoon with him as they escorted him out. I guess they were happy no one was taking off their clothes; that episode happened right here in the Rose City at the airport.
To my surprise I had two emails waiting this AM from Turkey’s evisa people. I didn’t think they’d reply so helpfully or quickly.
I think I have a couple of entries in the contest but if not, count me in!
I suppose comments are supposed to be for commenting on what TBB has said so I will close by telling you minimum wage here in the Beaver state is $9.70. Also I click on every ad I see here in hopes of lining TBB’s pockets but today the lower one didn’t link to anything. I guess I can’t take the class it was advertising so tastefully.
Off to the gate. A good day to all.
Have a safe flight. Shame you are leaving when the days are so nice now… I too also seem to go on vacation from PDX when the weather is gorgeous here!
Have a fantastic trip! I always feel so excited when I am about to fly and go discover a new place. I should do that more often instead of blogging lol.
>>>>>Also I click on every ad I see here in hopes of lining TBB’s pockets…
I really appreciate that but may I ask for a favor? This applies to ALL readers. Do not do it every day as Google will ban my account. Every once in a while is perfectly fine and much appreciated, not every day. Then I can really separate to see who is intent on getting my AdSense account banned (which I expect to happen shortly unfortunately).
Thank you!
I know this is the bash Delta site but who else gives you the option to buy 100k miles for $70?
IMO their is no place has cheaper miles than Delta. Do they cost more to redeem, yes. Do I think their engine stinks, yes. Can I get a million miles or two this yr for under 2k, yes.
I see you’ve graduated from the DeltaPoints school of debate.
What is your $70 strategy and why is it unique to Delta?
I take offense to that! I am a huge TBB fan here. Its not a new concept and I believe its been spilled by others but it still stands as the best way to earn miles/points out there. Until someone else steps up to allow you to earn more/easier Delta is still the best choice out there to fly on points.
I think you should do a blog post on how to do that, with pics and arrows so we can all benefit:-)
I promise I will give you a pass from a “blogger kills deal”…just once:-)
FTG doesn’t have an affiliate link for the IHG Card. The only link in that post was to the FT page with the 80k offer. Give us some credit, George!
Ariana:
I corrected the post and I flog myself 🙂
I thought the link was there but maybe I am imagining things. I don’t trust FTG staff to know what they are talking about, sorry. I still think the whole one credit card a day is, well, kind of ridiculous. Please provide clear instructions on any non affiliate link to your readers how to apply so they can travel for free too.
Going for this baby again very soon.
Thanks for checking in, you know there is a miles/points watchdog now. Call me Siskel.
I find it so interesting how you save the good content for your own site…
Be well.
Thanks for making the correction. The link directing readers to the 80k offer is titled “FlyerTalk,” which I hope is clear enough even for newbies. I’ve barely posted on my blog the past couple of weeks, so not sure which content you’re referring to?
I am talking about most PointChaser content that is way above (waaaay) the FTG (the blog) content.
Check the update in my post. THIS is how you should get the FTG readers to direct them how to get the 80k points. They are newbies (nothing wrong with that). Sending them to Page 80 of a ridiculously long FT thread is, well, not so nice.
I think I can identify the top 10 cards. Waiting…
Let me see if I got this right George, you are giving Ariana advice on how to run a blog?
the blog she runs has more readers in one hour than you get in a day, plus makes a profit, and you are telling her how to run a blog?
Just a little arogant don’t you think?
I am giving Ariana my opinion. I can do that in my blog. You can here too even though you do sound angry and bitter lately.
No doubt FTG (the blog) she runs has more readers in one hour than mine gets in a day! Congrats!
And no doubt FTG (the blog) makes a profit. Congrats, I know you are very very proud of this accomplishment.
If TBB was selling credit cards non stop there is no doubt it would turn a profit too! Now TBB is resigned to hypo pimping ads for Filipino women dating to try to recover its costs. I am fine with this at this stage, I guess we all have different goals in life.
But ONE thing TBB beats FTG on: Number of comments! TBB gets more comments in a single day than the FTG blog gets in a month! I find that unbelievable and hilarious. All these corporate resources at your disposal and most posts have no comments while in TBB I have readers competing who is going to post first (Jeff, come on, you are slacking again!).
And you are darn right I am very proud of that! It is an integral part of the TBB mission: Entertain, Educate, Inspire. Do at least one well!
Reader referred me a potential client today about to receive a substantial inheritance. You know I do NOT target miles/points people for my job, you know, they can be quite frugal and always looking for the best deal 🙂 She told me she did it because of my credibility and how strong I feel about being a fiduciary. No salespeople masquerading as advisors needed, she said. I find this quite smart (not arrogant). How can I be arrogant man?…I just came out to all my readers admitting I eat Ramen noodles in my trips. Give me some credit (oh, maybe not).
If I had a $50 Marriott GC every time you came back I would not have to hypopimp the Filipino women dating ad!
Thank you for being my most loyal reader! I can’t wait to read the FTG Top 10 Credit Cards!
You contribute to my blog’s mission to entertain readers. I find it amazing how you just can NOT stay away from this unimportant stuff (you know, FT threads, my blog…who cares man, enjoy retirement!). Let go of some things, it’s OK.
If I had big profits in mind I would NOT tell you to go away, you are becoming an integral part of my blog. Would you like to be an at large TBB Board of Directors member so you can influence future direction of TBB? (readers scream in horror).
Don’t worry. The pace of my blogging is just not sustainable and you know it. But it sure is amusing the hell out of me…and my readers. Thanks.
I loved Ariana’s post about Maui. Too bad it did not make it on FTG (the blog).
FTG (the blog) HAS gotten more popular since FTG (the senior citizen) stopped writing for it.
https://siteanalytics.compete.com/frugaltravelguy.com/?metric=uv&months=12
blah, Blah, Blah. keep this in mind George ( although I know it grinds the shi_ out of you. everyday Rene at Delta Points is crushing it both in readership and income stream.
every day you head out to Panera Bread thinking about those upcoming tuition bills and check that Adsense account.
everyday you wish you hadn’t been lazy and started the blog when you first thought about it.
everyday George. everyday. and I get to pop in here for a second or two and just keep reminding you
revenge is such sweet sorrow.
>>>>>>although I know it grinds the shi_ out of you.
You do telepathy now, nice!
>>>>>>>Rene at Delta Points is crushing it both in readership and income stream.
Mega lol!!!!!! Thank you to both of you for all the material, please keep it up! Entertainment at its finest, TBB readers are so grateful!
>>>>>>>every day you head out to Panera Bread thinking about those upcoming tuition bills and check that Adsense account.
Haters gonna hate. Yawn.
>>>>>>>>everyday you wish you hadn’t been lazy and started the blog when you first thought about it.
I do move slow, that’s a fact. I also don’t waste time thinking about the past, I suggest you do too.What a waste. Always looking ahead.Future is so bright I gotta wear shades (that’s from a song)
>>>>>>>>everyday George. everyday. and I get to pop in here for a second or two and just keep reminding you
You are late this morning, it is 8.57 am. Yesterday it was 8.03 am. For the record.
Thank you for being such a devoted reader. I appreciate it.
>>>>>>>>>revenge is such sweet sorrow.
That sounds angry. May I suggest Hazelnut at coffee in the mornings? Tastes great and such a peaceful harmonious environment, it keeps inspiring me!
Speaking about “revenge” (wow, really?) how about this amigo?
In a space of a few hours TBB gets more comments than your corporate owned blog gets in a month. And THAT amigo makes me smile from ear to ear. You call it revenge, I call it #winnning
Thank you for being so caring about my upcoming college tuition bills. We’ll be fine. The kid is (so far) hitting a 4.0 GPA. Expecting major merit scholarship material coming our way. If not, I can still hypopimp my Filipino women dating ad. Who needs the SPG or Platinum amex links when you find the goldmine (Filipino women ads!).
It’s always fun messing with you. Have a nice day.
See you soon!
In the inter-blog race to write the most absurdly pointless and “I’m going to pretend my readers are idiots” post on starwood points, Deals We Like just passed MMS, who recently took the lead by “researching the SPG program” and coming up with a 50 paragraph post on nights and flights
Deals We Like just gave a long winded post….. on the 5th night being free. Maybe next in the 50 part series, she’ll cover how many points each category is? Or did you know that if you transfer in increments of 20K to airlines, you get 5K bonus miles!?!?!?!?!
No comment by either MMS or DWL on why they couldn’t just link to the page on SPG that explicitly explains those very redemption options…..
https://www.starwoodhotels.com/preferredguest/account/starpoints/redeem/nights_flights.html
https://www.starwoodhotels.com/preferredguest/account/starpoints/redeem/free_nights.html
Oh, and it looks like Nights and Flights are next
Gee, I wonder if an affiliate link will come with that copy/paste job from SPG.com
I alerted my readers about that coming multi series. It’s in a prior TBB post.
Can’t recall the exact number, 11 or 13.
We all know why…
TBB Review Board/Siskel: Thumbs down!
I prefer the moniker “Siskel and Ebuzz”
2 Bluebirds down
Lol, good one!
is it me or is it getting increasingly harder to relate to these bloggers? BMG at HMT paid $1300 for Hertz Platinum (“Look Ma, I get to ride in a Mercedes!”), MP paid $300 for a cabana by the pool, TPG routinely pays >$500 a night for his hotel stays even if rooms are available on points (because he needs to hit his elite status), GL orders $90 worth of breakfast just to prove a point (and most dishes are priced in the $12-$15 range at that Andaz) etc etc.
Ironically, the one that is most relatable to the common man is probably MMS with his tales of cutting in elite lines with a grocery card, and cobbling together meals from the crackers in the airline lounges.
Occupy Boarding Area!
The common man usually limits his trip reports to fewer than 412 installments, and 41,000 pictures of his wife holding a Vanilla Reload card
I think we have the most in common with FTG – I can’t stand mosquitos either
I’m with you on TPG – definitely not applicable to most travelers. But, Gary gets those breakfasts for free as a Hyatt Diamond.
I volunteer my family as the real “common man” family. In every trip we pack AND cook AND eat ramen noodles to save money. If not, we get to take full advantage of our Fairmont dining certs 🙂 I think in my next mega (one & done, bring a pillow) trip report I will take some pictures to prove the ramen noodles!
It is hard to maintain “that” characteristic when you hit refresh to see how much money Bent Offers has sent to your account. I give Mommy Points a hard time about how when she started it was all about flying Southwest to see grandma in Kansas City; after money started rolling in, it was replace by British Airways First Class flat beds, Mega Do romps, weekends jetting all over the world, etc. Pretty soon she is going to bring their own butler along. Here is a niche that has not been filled: Mommy Points (Earn enough to bring your own Butler along). Lol
And to the guy who keeps emailing me to get Mrs. TBB on here with some pics holding Vanilla cards, please stop, enough man!
I miss being called angry already.
Ha ha – did you miss the part where I fussed about the price of EVERYTHING at that resort. 😉 Also done MegaDos well before blog generated income and have never flown BA first…though I would love to one day! I have laundry everywhere, am watching another 3 year old the next two days, and can barely move from joining CrossFit today so can you please send any extra butlers this way?!
Complaining about high prices, but showing us you can and will still pay said high prices? You have mastered the art of the humblebrag.
TJ: Never heard the term: humblebrag. Kewl.
MP: I still remember the pic of you in a Mega DO in a flat bed…thought it was BA. It can’t be BA…I forgot. Don’t worry about it. It’s ok to admit your tastes have been upgraded, it’s ok. Acceptance.
PS: Was “Blob buzz” a digg at VFTW ? 😉
Occupy Boarding Area!
Your name seems to be theft of the blog niche I’m aiming for. Stop that.
While I like the content here, I must admit I actually now peruse this blog primarily to see what ludicrous insanty I can find in the comments. I see no Ingy today. Hmm.
Look a little bit to the north:-)
any credit for being #45?
anything you want it to be:-)
That picture of the dude skiing is… f***ing… amazing. I would be s***ting my pants at that exact moment, seeing my entire life before me. That does not look like a blue cruiser at Park City Mountain Resort lol
Ok what’s with all this racing to the bottom “i am the cheapest traveler in existence” stuff? I think I need to post my trip report on our stay at Burj al Arab which we paid for with this bizarre currency called cash and even the big rollers at Boarding Area only seem to be able to afford a cup of tea at? You don’t have to be poor/destitute/tight to enjoy the points game 🙂
What is that bizarre currency called cash? I am waiting for the first trip report of a blogger paying in…bitcoins:-)
The Ramen noodles reference is a family tradition for us, we have been doing it for 20 plus years. We will have at least one meal with ramen noodles at the hotel. Every.Trip.Guaranteed.
And you know what…still pretty darn good!
I get paid in Amex MR points, mainly, nearly as bad!
A BitCoin trip report – love it!
I like the sound of the Ramen tradition. Traditions like that make for fun times with family.
And yes who could believe it eh a trip paid with cash? Well the flights were in BA first class using the uk Amex 2-4-1 voucher and these were the days before fuel surcharges, so we figured we’d splash out to try the world’s most crazy hotel. While it was definitely cool, we also stayed at Al Maha Desert resort (also with… cash) and that was actually better. You can do that place now with SPG points. Huge amounts of points but a coooool place. Well actually it’s quite hot, but you get it 🙂
“(Jeff, come on, you are slacking again!)
Has anyone checked on Jeff? He’s been gone so long, does anyone know if he was wee dogs who would eat his flesh if he were dead in his apartment? I always look to see if Jeff is first — and lately, he’s just… GONE!