Another TBB post featuring the most eclectic links around the web such as comparing the wealth of Gen X vs Baby Boomers, lessons from the mother of a mass shooter, Bark Air flies your dogs, state tax burdens, new Ether ETFs, selfies of scam victims, scenic drives, best cities for nightlife, best swimming holes, running vs biking, the new Amex hotel card offers and much more and of course always all of the most important developments in the crazy world of miles and points. Enjoy the weekend!
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Welcome to my quirky original authentic blog. It all started back in 2012 focusing on my crazy hobby addiction of frequent flyer miles, hotel and bank points. It has since evolved to a curated at least weekly post of the best web content along with my commentary. Here to Educate primarily, sometimes Entertain and if I get to Inspire you, well, that is a bonus.
This blog publishes on Fridays. This is a one man labor of love operation, enjoy it while it lasts. I may post on another day when I find the time. More clicks, more posts.
NEW: Follow me along in my travels now on Instagram!
PERSONAL FINANCE
I am seeing more of this lately. And likely going to continue in the years ahead: Managing an Inheritance: When ‘Mom’s Money’ Becomes Yours. A sudden windfall while grieving can be an emotional minefield, particularly for younger adults. Everyone grieves differently. Take a life changing stash of money being dropped on anyone and it can mess people up. It is time to take it easy and not rush things. Dealing with aging and health issues and of course death are the toughest parts of being a financial planner. And when clients need you the most. Some colleagues are selling their clients out to private equity outfits but let’s not expand on a yet another different tangent here ok?
The findings laid out in this article are depressing, sometimes I wonder what parallel reality a huge chunk of the US lives in smh. Majority of Americans wrongly believe US is in recession. Speaking of how everything is so terrible not being rooted in reality, here we go: The number of 401(k) millionaires has hit a record, Fidelity says.
There are now 485,000 retirement accounts with at least $1 million — up 43% from 340,000 401(k)-created millionaires a year ago
On the same theme: Gen X workers beat baby boomers in 401(k) savings. Don’t ever let anyone online change your mind that you should not invest in your 401(k) plan, they are charlatans. Reach and adjust your current lifestyle so you can contribute the maximum amount allowed every single year. Yes, it will not be easy in the beginning. It is okay to do hard things when you are young and before you know it it will become a habit. As your income grows, doing the maximum 401(k) contribution every year consistently will become easy. And you won’t believe what happens next after a decade or two.
Typically, 401(k) savers reach millionaire status if they started saving early in their working years and kept consistently contributing as much as possible year after year after year. Many didn’t panic and leave the market during an economic fallout. And typically, they’re not frequently taking out loans from their 401(k) plan. It can help when you work somewhere with a generous employer match, too. Many 401(k)-generated millionaires took action to set aside a greater percentage of their income toward retirement, as they kept working.
This is great for reference. As I am trying to convince my son to stop from completing the trifecta in moving to the three most expensive US states! Visualizing the Tax Burden of Every US State.
SCAMS/CRYPTO
The ironic fact about the crypto industry is that it started as a way to fight the establishment. And then companies like Blackrock and Fidelity got in it lol. Anyway, another development from the establishment taking money from the believers and suckers: The SEC just approved 8 spot Ether ETFs in a landmark decision. No staking is involved, which is the payment of interest on your ether deposits. I wonder how many of these ETFs will be around in a few years.
The weekly roundup in this space by Molly White: Threats to the stability and integrity of Ethereum. Yeah, how bizarre it is for the SEC to sue and…
One thing that stuck out as a little odd to me, though, was the prosecutors’ apparent concerns over protecting the integrity of the Ethereum blockchain. In the indictment, they wrote: “Tampering with these established MEV-Boost protocols, which are relied upon by the vast majority of Ethereum users, threatens the stability and integrity of the Ethereum blockchain for all network participants.”
So many thieves in my profession that keeps giving it a black eye: Former investment advisor could face 30 years in jail for fraud, money laundering. So many red flags. Like this guy named his firm “Battery Private”. Say what? Told clients he would “invest in bonds backed by homeowner’s association fees with an 8% return“. Oh, you know what they say, it sounds too good to be true? And then of course he “…bought a $125,000 Mercedes Benz SUV, and paid membership dues at Long Island National Golf Club, a private East End country club.” And wait, there is more! He paid “tens of thousands of dollars in personal credit card debt traced to an approximately $6,500 Chanel purse, an approximately $13,000 Rolex watch, and more than $11,000 in Ralph Lauren clothing, among other things.” Convicted on all three counts, lock him up!
I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, if this is what it takes to stop people from being scammed I am all for it. On the other hand, I am not sure I want any company to force me to take such pic and somehow letting it out there. Why Revolut is asking suspected scam victims to take selfies.
ODDZ & ENDZ
This is an amazing read. Very long. If I was doing the Best of Web posts like in the old days, this would definitely lead it. I still think about it days after I read it. Lessons from a Mass Shooter’s Mother. Devastating tragedy all around. Hopefully she can save others going forward. I can’t help but wonder if things would turn out differently if this obviously troubled kid had to work for spending money instead of being provided everything, including a BMW in college.
Yes, mine did make this list: The Most Common Last Name in Every Country, Mapped.
Let’s laugh at these amazing pictures with pets: 30 Finalists From The Comedy Pet Awards.
These look pretty cool: Photos from 41 Countries Juxtapose Blocky Architecture and Verdant Gardens in ‘Brutalist Plants’.
TRAVEL
SAVE $100 FOR 2024 THE EXTRAORDINARY TRAVEL FESTIVAL
This is great actually and I hope the airline succeeds: Bark Air, a new airline for dogs, set to take its first flight.
Bark Air says it will offer “white paw service” to its canine customers — who’ll even get to socialize with other dogs in what the company calls a “dog-centric” cabin configuration. Like first-class human passengers, dogs on board will be offered treats, noise-canceling ear muffs, a beverage of their choice and other surprises, the company said.
Some of these are not easy to get to! 16 Best Swimming Holes in the US.
I have done several of these: The 40 Most Scenic Drives in America.
Budapest, really? The Best Cities for Nightlife Around the World.
When you place your camera to record a video and a comet explodes above you, somewhere in Portugal.
BUZZING
A section where I go on and on about some stuff that happens in my life and anything else that just does not fit in another section above
Slowly coming to terms that the Personal Best times in my running career are behind me. As I am walking 4 miles every day now and planning to attack Physical Therapy sessions in the summer. So I am being drawn to articles like this to make me feel better about myself: A moment that changed me: I thought fitness was my superpower. Then I realised it was a ball and chain. I got my bike out and maybe it is better overall: Like to bike? Your knees will thank you and you may live longer, too. But it is not as hard as running marathons and I like to do hard things #adjusting.
Eventually, I could no longer ignore the questions my body and mind were raising. My search for answers led me to reconsider not just my attitude to my body and to running, but to life itself. To finding meaning and purpose, to achievement and ageing and to that ultimate finish line, mortality. [ Am I there too? ]
Well, I am definitely not switching from running to this you guys: History-making wingsuiters fly through Tower Bridge at 153mph.
I am still stunned the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Denver Nuggets in Denver in Game 7! I am also stunned that the Dallas Mavericks managed to tame the head of Kyrie Irving and made him focus on basketball. There was never any doubt about Irving’s talent. I made fun of the Mavericks trading for this guy. And I am being proven wrong this year. Unless he blows up at the worst possible moment that is, it can still happen. Anyway, back to the The Minnesota Timberwolves Are Shocking Everyone but Themselves.
I loved the new Mad Max movie. It is not the unbelievable Fury Road epic of course, nothing will ever top it. But it is still a very enjoyable movie.
This blog started with a focus on miles and points and travel. It has evolved since then. Everything below deals with the hobby of collecting frequent flyer miles and points and maximizing your travel experiences. If you are not interested, you can stop here, thank you.
MILES & POINTS NEWS/PROMOS/MY ACTION
It was another week with a flurry of new travel rewards credit card offers.
GENERAL NEWS/PROMOS/NEWBIES/ETC.
There are some really good pointers here on how to use it: How to find incredible flight deals with Google Flights.
It looks like son’s Hyatt stays the rest of this year will be upgraded thanks to this: Hyatt Guest of Honor Awards: Your Stay Upgraded.
Before Covid, the ultra low cost budget airlines were eating the legacy airlines’ lunch. Then the big airlines started responding by introducing Basic Economy fares and doing away with cancelation/change fees and have reversed their fortunes. Spirit Airlines is in trouble, especially after its failed sale to JetBlue. So, they finally responded, hopefully it is not too late: Spirit Drops Change and Cancelation Fees. Which of course no doubt was influenced by Frontier’s move a few days earlier: Announcing ‘The New Frontier’: Transparent Pricing, No Change Fees, and Enhanced Customer Experience.
This is pretty good for reference: A Matrix of Transferable Points: Where do Amex, Chase, Citi, Capital One, and Bilt Transfer?
Finally, Southwest Airlines is shaking things up! Southwest Airlines Flights Now Appear on Google Flights. I think this is a great move by the airline and for us consumers. People can finally see that when you include the carryon and two bags that always fly free with Southwest it will…sell more tickets.
It is always welcome to see Hyatt expanding, it is so needed after losing all SLH hotels: Hyatt Expanding in Latin America and the Caribbean with More than 30 New Properties.
CREDIT CARD CORNER
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We had a flurry of new credit card offers thrown at us in the last few days. Let’s recap:
Amex is back with American Express Marriott Bonvoy Business Five Free Night Signup Bonus (50k Each).
Amex Marriott Bonvoy Business card: Oh, it is back! Up from three nights again, I told you it is likely going to be back. I may go for it after I return from Greece as I see that it expires 7/10/2024. I am no fan of Marriott Bonvoy but hey, five free nights is five free nights you guys. The five free nights are good for properties costing up to 50k points per night. The annual fee is $125. The minimum spend is $8k in the first six months. Earning structure is 6x on Marriott purchases, 4x on gas stations, cell phone bills, restaurants and shipping and 2x on everything else. You do get 15 elite night credits if you are one of those shooting for worthy Platinum status. You do get Gold elite status AND a Free Night Award cert (up to 35k points) at each card anniversary. And a 7% discount on paid nights if you are one of those people who actually pay for travel lol. To reiterate, I am only interested for the five free nights, maybe I can time it to go see Machu Picchu in 2025 as it has a great Marriott property to stay there.
Amex is back with American Express Hilton Increased Bonuses (175k Points/130k Points + Free Night Certificate).
Hilton Amex Surpass Card: I have this card because Hilton is my #2 hotel program (and closing in to #1 Hyatt). The annual fee is $150 but every quarter I buy a $50 Hilton gift card and I get it all credited. So, in a way it makes money for me until Amex closes this loophole. It also gives me Hilton Gold Elite status which is great, especially overseas. Signing Bonus is 130,000 Hilton Honors points AND a Free Night Award cert. The minimum spend is a surprisingly low $3k in the first six months. These Hilton free night certs can be used in ANY property anytime which makes them much more valuable than all other hotel Free Night awards. You can earn a second Free Night Award cert after you spend $15k on the card every year. Earning is also very good with 12x on Hilton purchases, 6x on restaurants, groceries and gas stations, 4x on online retail purchases and 3x on everything else.
Hilton Amex Card: This is the basic no annual fee card. The signing bonus is 70,000 Hilton Honors points AND a Free Night Award. The minimum spend is only $2k in the first six months. You also get a pretty useless Silver elite status and the earning on the card is kind of anemic: 7x on Hilton purchases, 5x on restaurants, groceries and gas stations and 3x on everything else. If you like Hiltons and abhor paying annual fees this card could work for you.
Hilton Amex Business Card: The Signing Bonus is 175,000 Hilton Honors points AND a Free Night Award cert. The minimum spend is a higher $8k in the first six months. The annual fee is $195. This card gives you Gold elite status, which as we discussed it is great to have. $60 statement credit for Hilton “purchases” each quarter. Great earning structure as well with 12x on Hilton purchases, 6x on restaurants, gas stations, cell phone bills, shipping, car rentals and 3x on everything else. BUT starting July 1, the earning structure of this card gets really messed up and replaced with a flat 5x on everything for the first $100k of spend. And no Priority Pass lounge membership for you with this card, boo.
Hilton Amex Aspire Card: Signing Bonus is 175,000 Hilton Honors points and a Free Night Award cert. This is the premium card with a hefty $550 annual fee. The minimum spend is $6k in the first six months. A Free Night Award cert comes with it at each card anniversary. It also comes with a bunch of statement credits that you have to be very diligent to make sure you take them all; if you did, statement credits could be up to $889 per year. You get the highest Diamond elite status with the card. And of course Priority Pass lounge membership and other goodies. I carried this card for several years but I dropped it and settled down with the Capital One Venture X as my premium go to card. You don’t have this card for its earning structure: 14x on Hilton purchases, 7x on restaurants, airfare and car rentals and 3x on everything else.
So, Amex is back juicing the Hilton cards with Free Night Award certs and another trend I noticed is how they now extend the minimum spend period to six from three months, both very welcome. Remember, Amex has the policy to not award the Signing Bonus if you had the card before in the past seven years or so. And it also has onerous card family rules. Which have not affected the Hilton family of cards…yet?
Wait, there is more action…For the record, I have never had a direct affiliate credit card link in my blog. With imminent danger of being kicked out of another credit card vendor for low sales, this may change starting with the next blog post.
Please avoid these cards: Cardless Launches Avianca Cards (40k/60k Bonuses). I mean, it is always good to have competition and more credit card providers in this space. But this Cardless company is so far out there that it is to be avoided as it only allows to hold one credit card at the time. So, hold out for a worthy/better offer. Because these two are certainly not it! This is the second airline this company partners with, the other one is Qatar Airways. For the record, Cardless and Avianca invited a bunch of bloggers to wine and dine them at the launch. Guess who was not invited? Moi. And I am proud for that in a way you know.
Wait, there is more competition in this space. Another credit card provider we don’t want to get its hands on credit cards is Synchrony, oh boy: A new Virgin Red credit card is coming, but it won’t be issued by Bank of America. Will they give out a 2-liter soda as a Signing Bonus? Lol.
MY ACTION
Daughter left for a post graduation trip to Asia along with six or seven friends. They are traveling to Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Bali and Vietnam. No miles or points from dad were spent on this trip as they all booked the flights together on Delta to/from Japan and Detroit. And they are flying low cost airlines to get around in Asia and staying in hostels and Airbnb properties. I hope it all goes well, she is probably the most seasoned traveler among them. Yes, she has Global Entry, she listens to dad. Most of the time at least lol.
Spending is done on my Amex Hilton Surpass card and the free night cert should be on its way. These Hilton certs are the best…
It is time to start blowing some money paying for travel you guys. I know, I know, it goes against everything in my bones. But, I mean, come on, if not now, when? Time to reap the fruits of doing well, Dow 40,000 39,000 baby woohoo! Well, we’ll see. It is so hard switching mentality about this. As tough as savers who do great financially in accumulating mode over the years and then have trouble switching to spending mode in retirement, same thing. I am working on it. By trying to find a juicy award deal in last minute trips to Greece. I am not last minute kind of guy so this is very hard for me, never again. Update: Well, I lied, so I am going to Greece this weekend to see my mother and waiting patiently it worked! I burned:
82,960 Air Canada Aeroplan miles for one way Business Class Detroit to Frankfurt on Lufthansa and then on to Thessaloniki, Greece on Aegean. It was 70,000 miles and I just decided to burn miles for the taxes & fees as well. Glad to finally find a good use for my Aeroplan miles and maybe booking last minute is not that bad!
6,500 World of Hyatt points for one night at the Hyatt Regency in Thessaloniki, Greece to spend a night to get over any jet lag.
I usually rent a car at the Thessaloniki airport SKG from Avis or Hertz. But this time I found the rates with Sixt much better. Somehow I am still Platinum with Sixt due to my now former Hilton Diamond status from the Amex Hilton Aspire card I canceled a few years back. I hope they do not ask me to show it to them or expect to pay with that Amex card.
I booked my first week in my hometown in an Airbnb very close to the hotel I usually stay at. Much bigger place and about 60% of the cost. I will check it out and if I like it I will hopefully still be able to book it for the rest of my stay. I paid with my Capital One Venture X card and could use points to reverse the charge. I may do that or not. It is good to have options like this you know.
I need to book a ticket to fly back to the US, it will likely be around mid June. I have a free Hyatt Cat 1-7 cert that expires on June 16 and looked to spend it in the new all inclusive resort south of Thessaloniki, the Zoetry Halkidiki Resort & Spa. Which opens June 1 apparently. It looks very nice and hot in demand as there was no availability to use the cert and points. Sometimes I wonder about Hyatt…
I stayed at the Hyatt Centric in Philadelphia last week and here are some pics from it on a rather forgettable stay. I posted a walk through video of my room also. Disappointed not to get the suite upgrade but it is what it is. Also, I am a complete newbie with YouTube videos, why are my videos posting like this, on a continuous mode, what am I doing wrong?
It is really getting increasingly difficult to handle my family’s accounts. For a while now, Chase does not allow transfer of points between household members online. Not only that, but you are only allowed to have one family member linked to your Ultimate Rewards card that allows transfers, in our case we refer to our Chase Sapphire Preferred cards. We could do this online with secured messages in the past. Not anymore. So, I have my wife’s CSP card linked to mine. And then I have her call Chase to transfer her points to my CSP card. She hates it and I do too, what a waste of time for all, including Chase. They insist it is due to fraud potential. Maybe it is. If true, how about setting an upper limit per transfer? Anyway, so when I had my daughter call to transfer some of her CSP points to me she was told she can not do it because my CSP card is already linked to another card (my wife’s CSP). So, I have to call in to “unlink” my wife and then have my daughter call in to finally transfer her points to me. But wait, there is a mandatory 24 hour wait when you change linkages. How absurd, wow!
Don’t get me started with 2 factor authentications and of course phone systems recognizing voices, I guess I can no longer pretend to be my wife (who has a beautiful name that nobody realizes if it is male or female!). This worked so good over the years, oh well.
ADVANCED
Some positive news at last: United Airlines Partially Walks Back Recent Award Massacre.
Virgin Atlantic continued the beatings with ANA awards, what is new? Crooks: Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Devalues ANA Business Class Awards Without Advance Notice.
We talked above in the Credit Card Corner how Cardless has this horrific policy of allowing us to have just ONE credit card from it. And Travel With Grant, correctly imho, nails our dilemma in this post:
I have “Cardless FOMO”, but in this case, the fear of missing out (FOMO) is not missing out on the opportunity to get one of the existing Cardless credit cards below, but rather the fear of missing out on a great future Cardless credit card that has yet to be released. [Same]
MILES & POINTS
HOT CREDIT CARD OFFERS: 75k CHASE Ink Business Cash, 75k CHASE Ink Business Unlimited, 75k CAPITAL ONE Venture X, 100k CHASE Ink Business Preferred, 75k CHASE United Business, 75k CAPITAL ONE Venture Rewards, 150k AMEX Business Platinum, 80k CHASE Southwest Performance Business, $1,000 Cash Back CHASE Ink Business Premier, 75k Citi Strata Premier, 75k CITIBusiness AA Platinum Select, 15k AMEX Blue Business Plus and many more!
This section is about my hobby addiction of collecting frequent flyer miles and hotel points since the early 1990’s! SKIP if you are not into it!
As of today, I have burned 787,496 miles/points year to date (1,148,286 in 2023) and have 4,267,164 miles/points in the bank. Some do drugs, I do miles lol!
Thanks to US banks, very lucrative travel rewards credit card offers come and go all the time. This section will act as a reference point on the best CURRENT offers. I will designate new material preceded by NEW.
Remember, you are NOT allowed to ever carry a credit card balance!
Let me leave you with this:
Some of the links are behind a paywall. You can try to read them using Archive.is.
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Feel free to contact me anytime at travelbloggerbuzz@gmail.com and tell me what you like and don’t like about my blog and, more importantly, what you would like to see changed and/or what you would add or delete. All feedback is very appreciated. And follow me on Instagram.
George
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What a post today!
In line with our old friend Renee’s blog perhaps there in a blog advising fraudsters what credit cards to use to spend the client’s money. I think Amex lets you use some cards to for partial payment on a card but what to use for a $125k Mercedes? A market niche for sure.
Yeah, I need to make my posts shorter! I keep saying it and they are getting longer instead.
With your help, this blog sold 3 cards month to date. Still have not received a dime from second card vendor as I am in the probation period. I need to take some drastic action you guys. I have also been saying this for years, sad lol.
You are nor wrong about that, I am sure it is coming right after “Best 7 credit cards for funerals” or something like that. Thank God no more reviews of the Delta ham sandwiches for a while lol.
Yep, Budapest has a lively nightlife scene. Szimpla Kert (Simple Garden) is one of the best bars on the planet. Buzz, I can easily see you dancing the night away to some of the quirky bands that can be found in the small live band room within the massive place. Hungarian beer is cheap and good. Follow that up with a bite from the food trucks at Street Food Karavan a few steps away.
IMHO pub crawling in Budapest is a fine bucket list item.
Pity that the Hungarian government is so craptastic.
Just can not picture Budapest like that, I need to visit to verify 🙂
You spend a lot of time time in Europe. Any MUST stay Hyatts I can blow a Cat 7 cert? Than can be combined with an easier flight path to Detroit for my return? Everyone raves about the Vienna Park Hyatt but I am just not feeling it.
That story on the mass shooter, nice to read some in depth journalism focussed on the subject and not trying to sensationalise. Interesting reading but concerning when you realise how many kids are growing up with social insecurities due to staying online all the time.
Good job on the burning. I say burn when you can, and buy when you can’t tolerate any of the options available for points. Hyatt Cat 7 – what about 7Pines Ibiza? Can see you out there head banging in the night clubs all night. I looked at list and saw there are so few which was probably why none sprang to mind. Good prompt on Vienna as will aim to use husband’s there. Sacrilege I know, but last few years we have been redeeming it at Cat 5 and below as struggle to be in the right location for a worthwhile Cat 7.
Wow! Tons of good stuff again! Thanks so much! I hope your trip to Greece goes smoothly and that your Mom is gonna be doing well! Health stuff is a tough thing and as for me, I am unwillingly hoarding points right now since I have way too many damned Doctors to go see over the last few months. Hoping for an escape in September or October though!
That Mass shooter’s mom thing…. wow.
Carl
Burned 53,000 Hilton points for 1 night at the Hilton Hua Hin Resort & Spa.
Then I attempted to apply one of my Hyatt Globalist Suite upgrades to the Hua Hin Hyatt Regency and I was told, nope. But I could pay cash or use points for 4 ouf of the seven suite types available. I am starting to regret going for Globalist again smh.
https://twitter.com/FlyerTalkerinA2/status/1794525285129523298
Here we go again, trying Instagram with TBB, follow me to take you along my travels, next stop Frankfurt on Lufthansa Business Class from Detroit. Phuck Elon and X, let’s see how this goes you guys.
https://www.instagram.com/travelbloggerbuzz/
Hope you and your mom are doing okay. Interesting post about mental health here–the kids are not doing too well: https://www.afterbabel.com/p/youth-health-declines-82-countries
I will check it out, thanks.
Just rolled into town after yet another superb stay at the Thessaloniki Hyatt Regency.
Taking mom to the hospital for a checkup on the new Hip. It is the same place where myngather never came out from back in 2009…so I have weird emotions when I enter that place.
Blog had the lowest traffic in a very long time last week. Decided to turn on the TBB Instagram account and posted some great stuff imho and just 21 followers only. I need to seriously get it through my thick head that I am just not cut out to make it online and give it up. It is depressing and the few conversions here and there are not even paying the bills while I keep turning away a crazy # of prospects willing to pay me in the first year more than I made in this blog in many years! I feel like a moron and need help, Bloggers Anonymous chapters out there?
I should have quit like you did, this is not sustainable.
Correction: my father