We bring you the latest on the corona testing mess, introduce you to the new Chase Flex card, all US airlines kill fees, the dead office economy, travel to Petra, the best Covid-19 coverage, some promos to register if you are taking the risk to travel these days, ghost cruise ship tours, do not trade options for your sake, expect more violence ahead, greatest speeches in history, the amazing octopus and more!
TBB Blog Mission: To Educate. Entertain. Inspire. In That Order!
Support TBB by applying for CREDIT CARDS or visiting our LINKS or Donate
You like my blog? Send a link to someone please!
There is a lot in this post. Enjoy it during this last summer holiday weekend!
COVID-19
We continue to make progress, amid the ongoing carnage, believe it or not: A New Era of Coronavirus Testing Is About to Begin. But we have a loooong way to go in this war…
We have been dealing with a lot of shit but….hold on, this one way was a great deal with such shit! How the University of Arizona used No. 2 to solve its No. 1 problem: The coronavirus. We all know the saying “when something gives you lemons, you make lemonade”. Or however it goes. When the pandemic gives you shit, you make…ok, never mind! Hey, at this rate as we are approaching 200,000 dead (the horror, the horror!!!) anything, however shitty, if it could help we should go for it.
I plan to get my flu shot this month along with every family member! You probably should too: Get your flu shot in September — before cases start to climb.
I was surprised this had not become more public because it always made sense. As in…SHUT UP and if you can’t…speak softly! Mask Up and Shut Up!
It is pretty sad you schedule a tweet like this smh: Herman Cain, who died of COVID-19, tweets ‘the virus is not as deadly’ as believed. A reader got mad last time I posted something negative about this dude. So I am posting this to emphasize my original point! #covfefe
Must read: Andy Slavitt’s September 2nd update on Twitter. As I was expecting from the current Administration…a vaccine announcement by November 1st and…oh God, please helps us all!
This is a long and deep article all about the testing mess and the sorry state of our neglected public health system: We Can Solve the Coronavirus-Test Mess Now—If We Want To. Yep, another must read, these came later in the week, therefore they are listed a bit lower in this section, sorry about that.
This is a hell of a phucking virus indeed! We need more data on this and we will get it as time goes by. But even if this is remotely true, you know, maybe the best thing is to avoid getting it in the first place! Enter travel bloggers who keep posting about how you can go to Disney World or cheap fares, SAD! COVID-19 Can Wreck Your Heart, Even if You Haven’t Had Any Symptoms. Or if you are posting about mileage runs you are just an asshole!
MILES & POINTS
HOT CREDIT CARD OFFERS: There are now three different 65k Chase Southwest card offers and a 60k Chase United Explorer card offer. Please use my Affiliate links.
If you do not see a credit card you want with my affiliate links, perhaps I could refer you to it? Some cards I can refer are: ChaseSapphirePreferred, AmexHiltonAspire, AmexBlueBusinesPlus, AmexHiltonBusiness and others. Contact me please and thanks for your support!
These steps are positive, the “Freedom” type no annual fee credit cards from Chase are getting even better: Major Chase Freedom Revamp: Mastercard ‘Freedom Flex’ & Freedom Unlimited Will Earn 3% Dining & Drugstores, 5% Travel Bookings. I think the NEW Freedom Flex card would be a great second card for my 18 year old daughter after she handles her first card (Discover it for Students) well for several months to build her credit history/score. Here is an updated FAQ as well that clears up much uncertainty how the new Flex card will work in relation to the old Freedom card (which will likely go away in a year or so). The more I think about it, with these improvements, if you wanted to keep it simple, you can have only Chase credit cards and do pretty well. Maybe that is exactly the plan…
United usually follows Delta in everything they do. So it was fairly shocking to see them go ahead and be first in this, makes me wonder what awful thing they will do next! From a consumer perspective read this post: Guide: United Change Fees 2020 and 2021. From an airline business perspective, read this: United Ditches Domestic Change Fees… Let the Games Begin.
And then all hell broke loose as every other airline matched and tried to do one better on United, in order:
Delta eliminates domestic change fees on all but Basic Economy tickets
American Airlines Eliminates Change Fees + Changes To Basic Economy
Alaska Airlines Eliminates Change Fees Permanently
Here is a summary of the changes in the form of easy to read tables. And now here is a comprehensive guide of all fees updated as of September 2, 2020. And in the spirit of comprehensiveness, Hawaiian Airlines also killed all fees if anyone cares.
In the meantime, Southwest is saying hold my beer you guys, what is the fuss with this thing called “fees”? And…where is Jet Blue?
Accor hotels ALL program has a decent promotion, register by logging into your account HERE.
Thrifty’s “Blue Chip” Rewards Program always sucked. Now it is pretty much dead, not that anyone really cared for it anyway: Thrifty Effectively Kills Its “Blue Chip” Rewards Program.
TRAVEL
When you are travel nomads and then you find an opportunity to travel again: Flying from the US to Europe During COVID-19.
Greece tried to salvage a bit of its 2020 summer tourist season. Only to backfire with a 10x rise in Covid cases. Which has led to this: Athens hotel prices crash.
Not all travel is shut down. Inside the Lavish, Secret Vacations Celebrities Are Taking During COVID-19. If only some of you got some credit cards with my affiliate links I could do trip reports of some of my trips I could afford to take like these people. That was a joke by the way! I am laughing. As my daughter says…I always end up laughing at my own jokes woohoo.
This smart guy started doing “ghost” cruise ship tours!
For my aviation geek readers, this is for you. Plane built on Mumbai rooftop takes to the skies. A pilot built this on his own and it works!
Fascinating and one of the places I need to travel to…as soon as this little pandemic is over! Explore the Fascinating History of Petra, a Once-Lost City That’s Now a Wonder of the World.
I had no idea about this, wow! The Lovely Swiss Villas That Could Destroy An Army.
What a beautiful church without a roof, only in Greece!
I needed a pic in this post so here is one from my recent Michigan Upper Peninsula road trip.
PERSONAL FINANCE
There is no doubt we are seeing some strange things develop in this pandemic economy with working from home and now abandoned offices. Remote Work Is Killing the Hidden Trillion-Dollar Office Economy. This article correctly gets to the…carnage. I feel for the catering/eateries/coffee shops around the area my wife worked. I feel for the local dry cleaning place I have been going to for years, last time I visited was in March! The airlines whose business model was to…take it out on business class travelers and now scrambling to survive. Why are hotels still being built, WTF! My local Starbucks is doing fine as it has transitioned to a to go and drive through place…And we can go on and on. Be grateful for what you have and be kind to others who are not doing so well!
I really liked this: Experience Is The Best Teacher. Lessons learned when you are in your 50’s:
Money Buys Freedom Not Stuff
Live Below Your Means
Marry Well and Don’t Hassle Your Kids
Invest Early and Often
Keep Acquiring Skills and Certifications
Replace Alcohol and Junk Food with Exercise and Nature
Diversify Your Income Streams
Be Greedy When Others Are Fearful
Pay Yourself First
Do Good
For Pete’s sake, do NOT do this, WTF! This should be illegal…only in the US!
CURRENT EVENTS/POLITICS
And when you thought when they tried to convince you that the pandemic response was anything but disastrous smh. Trump used the RNC to gaslight America on Covid-19. We will see even crazier shit until the election and then…buckle up!
I have been warning you that I think we will see more violence and I even considered getting a gun. I am resisting it…because I am a lover, not a fighter. Lol. Ok, this is not a joking matter obviously. The Violence Could Get Much Worse. You know we have reached batshit crazy status when the US Prez runs on law and order and says all the shit that is happening under his watch will happen if we elect Biden. I mean, wtf to infinity. Buckle up, this is going to get more bloody and surreal in the next two months. I hope I am wrong!
Very interesting: Visualizing the State of Democracy, by Country.
We lost Georgetown college basketball coach legend John Thompson this week. This tweet by his former player Allen Iverson was the best!
ODDZ & ENDZ
I had never heard of this type of retreat where you pay a lot of money to do some psychedelic drug that makes you vomit to…find yourself. No thanks, I think I’ll pass: ‘A Hail Mary’: Psychedelic Therapy Draws Veterans to Jungle Retreats.
I really enjoyed playing back some of these videos: The 100 Greatest Music Video Artists of All Time.
When you are really bored and you think about clicking on some blog post about a stupid “shocking” video…stop. Click on this instead: 35 Greatest Speeches in History.
Did you know there is a type of porn tailored to Orthodox Jews? Frum Porn it is called. You see, where would you learn stuff like that huh? The Secret, High-Risk World of Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Porn. I had no idea, wow!
This creature is just amazing! Studying the creativity and intelligence of the octopus.
This video is mesmerizing. Don’t watch it under the influence of any drugs, you have been warned! Circulatory Systems.
BLOG BUZZ
We are now entering BLOG BUZZ, a section for advanced hobbyists and veterans of this fast imploding hobby and also a section where I go on and on about some stuff that happens in my life because it helps me feel better about myself.
So, my award Singapore Airlines business class flights JFK-Frankfurt flights were canceled for this November so at the present time I have no flights to get to Greece for the 2020 Athens Marathon. Which it is still not canceled or gone virtual yet! Assuming a huge turnaround in the Covid cases in Greece it is almost certain I am not going to go. I called up Singapore Airlines and got promptly refunded and miles redeposited to my account. New expiration is June 2021 now which gives me some time to burn them again. Make sure you use a credit card you will not be canceling anytime soon for such refunds to go smoothly back on that credit card!
As I was expecting bonuses will start getting bigger… Best Ever Offer: Alaska Airlines Increased To 65,000 Miles + Companion Fare After $8,000 Spend In 6 Months. Watch the tiered offer and good luck getting approved by Bank of America!
Dan of DansDeals dares to dream: Dear Airlines: Thanks For Ditching Change Fees, But Can We Rewind The Clock On Mileage Program Devaluations? And…good luck with that! Well, it appears United is lowering some awards but, I mean, does this matter at all when there is so little flying and so many airlines are basically toast without government bailouts? United Dynamically Priced Awards: NYC To Miami 5K, LA 6.5K, London 22K, And Tel Aviv 29.5K Miles Each Way.
And now the final saga of this…AA Shutdown: Citi Account Closure Letters Mailed Out This Week.
This is very important, don’t let this happen to your family if you belong 😉 Tale of a Churner / MSer Passing Away; Educate Someone on your Churning Details!
I always found this process very confusing, I wish they consolidated them all in ONE bucket (yes, that will lead to kissing goodbye to some award sweet spots) but it will really simplify our lives 🙂 How To Transfer Avios Between Programs For Free.
Why do people click on this shit is beyond me! Instead of calling this shit out, all the bloggers are kissing their asses for backlinks #BARF! Maybe if I did that too…they would throw me an HT instead of HTing “Gregg” and “Alan H.” smh.
Last week I informed you how Milevalue was bought by a credit card sales outfit. First post under new ownership is: “Why The Chase Sapphire Preferred Is My Next Credit Card”. Yeah…it is that ridiculous…
Running interrupted since last Thursday. Hamstring problem. I made a stupid decision to keep running when it first bothered me…my stubborn self again smh.
There are still numerous websites out there catering to newbies and trying to trick them to click on their affiliate travel rewards credit cards. Judging from the conversions on my site from my readers (my family does not read my blog lol) in the month of August (ZERO!), it is fairly obvious you all are affected by the bank restrictions (5/24, etc)…Then again, having to do stupid posts “XX reasons I love XYZ card” is beneath me…So, catch 22 I guess. A whole month without a single credit card sale to non family readers is beyond demoralizing. In a few months I will complete Year 8 of blogging. I am coming to terms I will never become a blog Titan, so sad #theendisnear
And I leave you with this…
Follow TBB on Twitter @FlyerTalkerinA2.
You can subscribe to TBB below, winners only!
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.
Back. And first.
Thanks for the reminder to organize the awards programs for next of kin. With nowhere to go and competition heating up for spend the balances are growing.
Interesting links! And the Freedom flex looks like a good way to get yet more for next of kin!
Bronze!
If you’d do a proper report on your UP trip you’d probably get at least 10 conversions.
Sounds like your family is ready to apply for CCs!
BTW, what’s the future of Saverocity?
Good question, I have no idea.
Solid post, lots to dig in. Love you brother. Keep fighting the good fight!
@ Sam: Good to see you back!
@ DML: Sam was faster today 🙂 Yeah, agree on the balances and familia…but who the hell knows how the landscape looks six months for now!
# Nick @ PFD: With 2 conversions last month both to family members…is there any way to get a down payment on that? 🙂 Just the thought of doing a detailed trip report like the others I have done…is life sucking to me, no time for such return as in the past two months man. Son is up there now for the holiday weekend too, maybe we go back next year.
@ ABC: Yeah, not much happening there, that Matt should sell out to TPG 🙂
@ Julian: Thanks a lot, fighting the good fight is becoming self-defeating after so long…Your comment helps though! 😉
UPDATE: For the second weekly post in a row I forgot to mention that God Save The Points has left Boarding Area! Nothing goes by TBB 🙂
A US passport used to give you VISA free entry to 171 countries. Now it’s down to 86.
https://qz.com/1893192/the-countries-americans-can-travel-to-visa-free-in-september-2020/
When the ghost writer gets paid by post…or maybe you are just assholes alike, smh:
View From The Wing – Passenger Who Handed ‘Worst Note Ever’ To Flight Attendant Has Been Banned By American Airlines
One Mile at a Time – American Airlines Bans Passenger Who Handed Flight Attendant Vicious Note
Yep, posted at the same time…
I am done here!
This EPIC collapse by the Bucks in the 4th quarter will go down in history as the definition of choking.
We had absolutely nothing to do with the sinking of the Trump boats today!
Interesting financial planning topic I haven’t seen addressed much:
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4296146-define-strategy-for-your-own-cognitive-decline
As of Tuesday night I have 25 links for next edition of TBB, likely coming on Friday…
It is pretty pathetic though that I have not had a single cc conversion (outside of mi familia) since August 11. Thanks to the reader who keeps buying those items in sets of 10 or less…if it weren’t for you carry this site a bit…this would be pretty much shut dead.
Had first client in person meeting (at the deck keeping >6ft apart) today and it felt really good. Last time it was back in early March!
Feel so bad for Giannis and the Bucks but, I mean, wtf is wrong with you underachievers or what? And NEVER celebrate #1 see ever again, WTF!