Another TBB post featuring the most eclectic links around the web such as the coolest hotel bars, Elon Twitter master, collecting bodies in Bucha, Bilt Rewards expose, more on JetBlue trying to buy Spirit, retirees living on cruise ships, inflation increasing along with home prices and interest rates, war got weird, how Russia could end, world’s military budgets visual, ivermectin does not work, playing basketball with MS, weird cats, baobab trees, more Hyatt properties are on the way and a lot more! Enjoy your weekend.
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TRAVEL
Not a single travel expert predicted this: JetBlue Makes $3.6 Billion Counterbid for Spirit Airlines. No idea if this will happen…one thing is certain, JetBlue’s offer is FAR superior to Frontier’s! Another point I want to make is: I have not seen an airline start out so great and then just dropping in, well, everything, looking at you JetBlue. Update: This from the experts at Cranky Flier: JetBlue Twists Itself in Knots Trying to Create a Rationale for Buying Spirit. Love how the article ends: “Spirit is an airline that works. JetBlue is one that sits in the middle and works in its limited geography… but going beyond that is tough. Now, JetBlue wants to take Spirit and create a larger airline that works worse.”
The 21 Coolest Hotel Bars in the World. Not that I am into drinking. Actually, I have not had any alcohol all of 2022! I don’t want it to affect my running and looking so sexy. 🙂 Anyway, what is your favorite hotel bar?
I wonder how many of these people got Covid already…Meet the Retirees Who Live on Cruise Ships. Not my cup of tea but very interesting nonetheless.
Angel Falls, in Venezuela, now shows up to 3 waterfalls!
PERSONAL FINANCE
We have seen crazy things happen in the last several years. So, expect the unexpected! Can Home Prices and Interest Rates Soar at the Same Time? Rising mortgage rates are supposed to cool house prices. But this time could be different. House down the street went up for sale on April 1, sign changed to “Sale Pending” on April 3 so there you go I guess…
Good advice here again: Misleading Ourselves.
Investing can be maddening. Stocks that look like they’re going up can end up falling, while investments that look like they’re headed for the dustbin can suddenly bounce back. This leaves investors in a difficult position—because the right thing to do often feels wrong.
1. Don’t equate price with quality. [To young investors: You want BAD bear markets now!]
2. Don’t look back. [Don’t waste ANY mental bandwidth asking questions such as: “what if I had bought XYZ stock at that rock bottom price?”, etc.]
3. Don’t put the tax cart before the investment horse. [At the same time, don’t do stupid tax moves ok?]
4. Don’t worry about IRA distributions. [It is a good problem to have, be grateful, you ‘ll be all right…if you did things right over decades that is]
Elon Musk is the biggest troll ever. 9.2% and the Master of Twitter. I guess this is what happens when you have too much money and, I guess, free time to spend on Twitter, yikes! Article gets into details regarding Elon’s fights with the SEC. I think the guy is nuts. I do have a small play brokerage account and I do hold Twitter stock which is now shockingly worth more than what I bought it for. And no, I had no idea that Elon will be buying so much of it! I wish he would have left the company alone to continue to…slowly make progress after co founder Jack left. Well, grab your popcorn I guess…
UKRAINE WAR
This has some interesting thoughts about how wars are evolving. With the aid of technology of course. War got weird.
But the Ukraine war is also showing how recent technological advances have changed the nature of human conflict. In the 70s and 80s, innovation largely shifted from “atoms” to “bits” — our jet engines and rockets and vehicles are only a little better than they were back then, but our sensors and communication networks and information processing tools are vastly better. Recent wars had given us hints about the battlefield effects of the IT revolution — precision-guided munitions in Iraq and Syria, cyber-harassment of Iran’s nuclear program, drones triumphing over armor in the Armenia-Azerbaijan war, ISIS’ propaganda videos, and so on. But the sheer intensity of the clash in Ukraine, and the direct contest between U.S. and Russian technology, gives us a much clearer picture. And as always with technological revolutions, it’s deeply weird.
But if drones have made the battlefield marginally more dangerous for armored vehicles, portable anti-tank weapons have been an absolute game-changer. Antitank guided missiles like the U.S.-made Javelin can kill armored vehicles at a range of more than 2 km, while lighter weapons like the British/Swedish NLAW are useful at shorter ranges.
Fascinating interview: Is This How Russia Ends? Must read. Hope he is not right…on the nuclear strike that is. And I am not sure with the conclusion below…but, after what we have all seen recently, nothing is off the table anymore!
The Russian Federation is a truncated empire, waging its last big imperial war, which it will eventually lose. I don’t know what kind of devastation it will wreak on the world before it does, but it will lose. It may lose its last great imperial war the same way Germany lost theirs after devastating the whole world. When it does, the empire will break up. I think there will be a State of Moscow and a State of St. Petersburg. I think dozens of countries will end up existing on the largest landmass in the world.
Have you ever read an article and just felt your stomach turn? Collecting Bodies in Bucha. You will after reading this article like I did. And this is an archived link to the article. Warning: The pictures contain strong gross bloody images, Europe in 2022…unbelievable, thanks Putin!
She found her husband supine in their back yard, beside a wood pile. I’d arrived there a few minutes earlier, with a photographer. Sergey wore a sheepskin-and-leather jacket; a T-shirt was draped over his face. Havryliuk’s brother, Roman, lay a few feet away. So did a third man, whom she didn’t know. All three had been shot in the head. When Havryliuk lifted the T-shirt over Sergey’s face, she found that a bullet had pierced his right eye, leaving a gaping hole. She said nothing, but quickly put back the T-shirt. Leaving the yard, she said matter-of-factly, to a friend who’d accompanied her, “My hands are trembling.”
I have been trying to post this link for a while so I am sticking it in this section because it is my own blog without advertisers so I can do whatever the hell I want! 🙂 A Visual Guide to the World’s Military Budgets.
COVID-19
I had my second booster. I went with Moderna after my first three shots were with Pfizer. At my nearby Walgreens. Other than a sore arm, no side effects at all. It had been six months since the first booster.
There is another wave but it appears in the US we have been escaping it. This darn virus continues to surprise us. Locally, here in Ann Arbor, Michigan, it appears we have our own mini wave with cases going up four to five times! I think it has to do with so many of us with international connections (and travel).
On another note, please don’t listen to idiots, put that Ivermectin down!
ODDZ & ENDZ
Years ago I posted a disturbing story about a dude who moved in to his daughter’s dorm room and proceeded to abuse her friends. Blog reader Chris alerted me to this new development: A dad who moved into his daughter’s dorm room is convicted of abusing her friends. What he managed to do was horrific! Justice prevailed, I hope this guy gets locked up for life!
What an amazing story, I had no idea you can do all these things while having MS! The unstoppable drive of Chris Wright, the first NBA player with MS.
Unbelievable story! How Did a Man Survive Alone at the Bottom of the Ocean for Three Days in a Sunken Ship?
Amazing trees! Photographer is Documenting Ancient Baobab Trees Before They All Disappear.
MILES & POINTS
HOT CREDIT CARD OFFERS: 75k CHASE Business Hyatt, 75k Capital One Venture X, 75k CHASE Ink Cash, 75k CHASE Ink Unlimited, 100k CHASE Ink Business Preferred, 80k CHASE Sapphire Preferred, 50k CHASE Sapphire Reserve, 60k CITI Premier, 20k CHASE Freedom Flex. up to 30k CHASE Freedom Unlimited, 70k CHASE United Explorer, 3 FREE Nights with Chase Bonvoy Boundless, 60k BANK OF AMERICA Alaska Airlines Business, 20k CITI Custom Cash, and many more, including many AmericanExpress cards, including Delta, Marriott and Hilton cards! Please check out my Affiliate links. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
If you do not see a credit card with my affiliate links, perhaps I could refer you? Contact me!
This section is about my hobby addiction of collecting frequent flyer miles and hotel points since the early 1990’s! Feel free to skip this section and parts of the next one if this is not for you.
Newbies: The BEST thing you can do to improve your finances is to pay off all your credit cards, PERIOD. The best by far! If you carry any credit card balances, you should stop reading right now and go out and work your ass off to reduce them and pay them off AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. If you have a spending problem, you MUST leave the plastic at home ok? Also, find a few bloggers you trust who do NOT try to sell you EVERY day like so many in this “hobby”. Because the bloggers you have been reading are most likely NOT looking out for your best interest! Let’s move on…or, better, move to the next section below.
The big news in this space was that Hyatt Adds 7 New All Inclusive Brands, 100+ Properties Coming. I guess it is good that Hyatt is expanding its footprint. But all these all inclusive properties now come with its own award chart too. Update: Here come another 7 Hyatt Club Vacation properties too.
Chase recently raised the signup bonus for the United Explorer card to 70,000 United Miles. The annual fee of $95 is waived for the first year. Earn 60,000 miles after $3,000 spend in the first three months and an additional 10,000 miles when your spend totals $6,000 in the first six months. Again, do NOT even attempt this if you carry credit card debt or you have “spending control” issues! If you are responsible and know what you are doing, please consider applying for the card with my Credit Card links. Ask me or comment if you have any questions.
In general, I do not recommend Marriott Bonvoy travel rewards credit cards. Because, simply, there are better frequent guest programs out there and just better signup bonuses of more valuable “currencies”. But Chase again changed some offers that may interest you:
Marriott Bonvoy BusinessAmex now offers 100,000 Bonvoy points after spending $5,000 after the first three months. And the more interesting one is the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card offering 3 FREE nights (valued in up to 50,000 points each after spending $3,000 in the first three months). Sometime last year Chase offered the Boundless card with 5 FREE nights and I regret I did not go for it at that time, oh well. Both cards are available with my links, they ARE there but may require some clicking around. If you are new to this game, these are definitely not the cards you want to start with, unless for some weird reason you are a Bonvoy fan…
Chase keeps doing these targeted spending offers with its cards: Chase Q2 Spending Offers Live: Avios, IHG, Hyatt, Marriott, Southwest and United all targeted.
I canceled this card a few years ago because I saw the writing on the wall, so the news was not shocking: U.S. Bank Radisson Rewards Cards To Be Converted To Other U.S. Bank Cards.
There are a lot of Amex Membership Rewards transfer point bonuses going on right now. The 40% bonus to British Airways Avios sure looks pretty juicy and…I am thinking about it. Not as hard because I still have a lot of Avios…due to not spending any because…Covid. 🙁
Every time Delta Airlines does something positive…the company ALWAYS takes it away in another way. So, goodbye to this “sweet” spot: Ouch: Delta Massively Devalues Partner Award Travel To Israel.
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.
MUST read: Bilt Rewards Review (Be Careful Who You Trust). I recently ranted about this card last week and my main beef with it is this:
The Bilt coverage is very disproportionately positive in relation to the value of the card and unfortunately most of the worst offenders are media outlets who have been VERY positively enriched by Bilt but have chosen not to disclose that fact (the details- some of which are shocking are outlined below.)
I could go on and excerpt the hell out of this post but…I am running out of time. Because I am extremely busy and do have a day job that pays the bills that feeds my family. And no, I don’ t have any Bilt referrals to sell you and no, nobody invites me to parties to wine and dine me so I can “review” their product (which always ends up in recommending it because $$$$). Check out the comments for lol material from the status quo affiliate pumping defenders…
ANA is doing elite status matches, if you have elite status with American, Delta or Japan airlines that is.
April 24 Marathon is coming up fast, training continues to go well. Last Sunday I had a 20 mile run and this Sunday I have a timed 10 mile run at the pace I am shooting to hit my time goal. Hope I stay healthy!
Spring is coming!
Let me leave you with this…
Thank you for reading my blog. If you enjoy it please pass it on to a family member or friend, thank you!
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TBB
travelbloggerbuzz@gmail.com
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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!
Thanks for the cat weirdness! Laughter is good now. And scarce.
The Priority pass that comes with venture x was very useful this month. Neither Dulles not Las Vegas has a Delta club so this filled in nicely. I had lunch at my first visit to a Centurion club. I expect it to be the last.
A friend of mine has been looking for a house for about a year. He makes good money but he just can’t find anything that’s reasonable. We’re both really curious about what happens with the real estate market in another couple of months once all the rate locks are expired. I would guess prices would go down, or at least stop rising, but at this point nothing would surprise me.
I think housing prices will be adjust globally. Years of extremely cheap mortgage rates are over. China has been hit hard. Canada is ready to pop the bubble. In the US, prices are unlikely to continue to go up ( except a few paces San Diego ). So, does this mean the population is less likely to move to new jobs because you don’t want to double your mortgage rate?
Bronze! For the Pacific Northwest! I have to say I always love the finance stuff you post. I’ll freely admit these articles help me try to stay withing the guard posts!
Nuclear war due to Russia? I hate to say it but I think it could happen. I sure hope not though!
I am not an airline investor but watching from the sidelines, I think Jetblue would be crazy to buy Spirit. No idea why that idea even came up from them.
Hope the running keeps going well!!!
Thanks Buzz for another great post for the weekend reading. I second DML on the comic relief.
Finally going to Italy/France end of May…if they’re still there…ouch.
Have a great weekend and good luck with the training.
Epic and Lego partner to build a metaverse for kids….. pedophiles are excited.
You can barely use avios points for domestic travel. AA’s award prices are adjusted to make sure there’s no award availability with partners.
Used car prices are finally declining and demand for trucks (transport goods) is reduced. This “transitory” phase is coming to an end.
Covid cases are going up dramatically across the country. Ppl just aren’t getting tested and most had omicron. Instead look at universities where there’s been consistent testing. Some places currently 25% of their students quarantined. Hopefully this wave will be over soon so they can have a decent graduation pArTy.
Thanks everyone for the comments again and the kind words.
Going to make a few selective comments because time is short again because, you know, life…
The real estate market has been crazy for a long time. Low supply and demographics and, wait for it, people with plenty of cash and job prospects too! I am not moving…where would I go you know? Prices have to stop rising, at least a bit, right? Then again, we have been under one of the weirdest economic environments ever so…who the hell knows!
If I had a dollar for every time I heard an expert say “this can’t keep up”, “Canada is a bubble about to pop” and all of these things, you know, it is like the perma bears…one of these years they will be correct 🙂
You then throw in all the work from home/remote work on top of it…and it just gets even crazier.
Every day that goes by Russia gets deeper in the shit…wow.
What is the infatuation in the far right with…pedophiles? Never understood that, among many other things they believe in…
Yeah, I think almost everyone is done with Covid. When the 145 year old Queen of England gets through it and now Pelosi…I mean, I don’t blame them. I keep thinking of that Texas restaurant chain CEO who got it and made his tinnitus unbearable and he shot his brains out…so I am still careful. With four RMNA shots in me.
Daughter got internship offer from Signify. Never heard of it until I learned it is the former Phillips, you know, the light bulb company trying to reinvent themselves from Light Bulbs to, wait for it, Internet of Things 🙂 Anyone know more about the company? She is ready to say yes because she really liked the people and is about what she wants to do. It is sophomore year so not a big deal, next year is the biggie one. She is trying to get into Google 🙂
Ok, family dinner time.
No, I did not pursue any Bilt commission/referral arrangements yet lol.
Everybody’s done with covid except China:
https://twitter.com/serpentza/status/1511936214323982341
Back of the envelope math: it’s hard to believe that 95% of the COVID cases in mainland China are only in Shanghai.
You know, according to ourworldindata.org:
Deaths To Date:
China 4,638
USA 985,482
Of course the China number is higher…but still, sometimes I wonder…Isn’t government’s main function to protect its citizens? Can you imagine the heartache all these loved ones left behind here?
At the same time, seeing these videos from Shanghai are surreal. As this pandemic rolls on…and seeing what happens in China and Hong Kong, not sure about sticking with zero Covid policy is worth it? Maybe we did it right here by just letting Covid run wild and…now we are “enjoying” much higher immunity walls?
Just throwing some thoughts out…
Finally, there are some brave bloggers out there. Like Bethany posting about the Bilt card….causing all the bloggers in my TBB Blogs To Ignore list to come out of their bunkers/MoskitoIsland/bankbanquets to give her a beating and, as they did with me, to try to get her into…the cozy blogger brotherhood camp. Anyway, kind of fun to read the comments over there 🙂
This blog is still looking for its first cc conversion in the month of April. Maybe I should turn into a cc pushing bitch like so many other bloggers still at it? Ok, we’ve been there before. Enjoy my blog while it is still up…coming to 10 years blogging soon, maybe it is time to…do something else, not much else to prove here.
18 miles running today next, still freeeezing in Michigan!
Or you could do what NZ did. Vaccinate like crazy and prepare for omicron. Worked pretty well.
“ Isn’t government’s main function to protect its citizens? ” At least to plan/prepare for worst case scenario.
BTW, Putin disagrees. And the last 70 years of communism in CN should tell you that the main function is to preserve the power of the communist party. And Xi is the leader for life.
Islands in the middle of oceans with small sparse populations should do better fighting pandemics.
Based on a study in November 2020, USA was #1 in pandemic preparation. LOL.
Also, the last 42 years in China have brought shocking improvements to the living standards of its people. Fact.
My 87 year old uncle died today in Larisa, Greece…Grew up around him so…strong memories. Kind of bummed…life goes on.
Sorry for your loss. Goes back to PDF’s twitter link. Once we move away from home, we may only see family members a few more times in our lives. And often big family gatherings happens at a wedding or funeral. Many of us in “the hobby” try to make this happen more often. That’s the magic of points and miles.
I like this thread… A lot of truth here.
https://twitter.com/SahilBloom/status/1513143686896435200?t=7sygWqhJZxhbvYIb5uTobg&s=19
tl;dr 🙂
18 miles, pace 9.15
pizza time!
This tune…
Viagra Boys – Research Chemicals
what, no Top 40 here, gtfoh 🙂
https://youtu.be/U7gbFMWZWlo