Another TBB post featuring the most eclectic links around the web such as the mega backdoor Roth account, generational wealth, Lonely Planet founders’ story, ranking bank points, quiet compounding, the pay phone bandit, the man who built the IBM PC, best airport meals and scuba diving destinations and much more and of course always all of the most important developments in the crazy world of miles and points. Update: Enjoy the holiday weekend, no Friday post, see you next week on Tuesday.
TBB Blog Mission: To Educate. Entertain. Inspire. In That Order!
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This blog started way back in 2012 focusing on my crazy hobby addiction of traveling with 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 is a one man labor of love operation, enjoy it while it lasts.
PERSONAL FINANCE
If you are working for an employer that allows this, go for it! What is a “mega backdoor Roth”? Leading with this one as I was recently asked about it. And also to help out some of my son’s colleagues and other friends in the tech industry as these companies do allow this. Also, remember this: Not everyone is eligible for this conversion strategy. Also, as the final paragraph indicates this may go away at some point. Frankly, I am shocked that it is still allowed.
Some of my clients have been with me for twenty or so years. And I invest the same way as I manage clients’ money. And we have all benefited greatly from this: Quiet Compounding. Always go for the first choice ok?
I try to keep in mind that there are two ways to use money. One is as a tool to live a better life. The other is as a yardstick of success to measure yourself against other people. The first is quiet and personal, the second is loud and performative. It’s so obvious which leads to a happier life.
Also, this excerpt stands out:
Long-term investing is about being able to absorb manageable damage; if you can’t do that, you’re pushed into the much harder trick of attempting to avoid short-term volatility. You’re only durable when you care more about surviving volatility than you do looking dumb for getting hit by it in the first place. Instead of trying to look smarter than everyone else, you make a quiet bet that things will slowly get better over time.
Two charts that I think are worthy sharing with you, first one was found HERE:
And another one:
There are always alarming things happening in the financial markets…
SCAMS/CRYPTO/AI/TECH
I changed the section headline to add Tech. Because this is my blog and no sponsor tells me what to do, story of my life lol.
This dude, if not caught, technology would have driven him out of business lol: King of Quarters: The ‘Pay Phone Bandit’ Who Baffled the FBI in the ’80s. A rogue genius figured out how to breach coin boxes on the phones, with his haul adding up to as much as $1 million. If a movie was made out of this I would certainly watch it.
This was delightful, I did not know anything about this guy and how the IBM PC was actually born. Actually, Delta Airlines killed him before he got the recognition he so much deserved. The Misfit Who Built the IBM PC. Don Estridge broke all of Big Blue’s rules to create the home computer. The company would never forgive him for it. Thank you Mr. Estridge, hope you are resting in peace Sir!
ODDZ & ENDZ
I have posted this link before and I am posting it again because it just rocks: Ventusky-Wind, Rain and Temperature Maps.
Very cool: The World’s Oldest and Youngest Countries. by Median Age. Greece is way up there as expected. Every one in the youngest list is in Africa. Also, why are we singling out territories like Saint Pierre & Miquelon along with Saint Barthelemy?
TRAVEL
SAVE $100 FOR 2024 THE EXTRAORDINARY TRAVEL FESTIVAL
Maybe I try one of the meals listed in these airports: 37 Unforgettable Airport Meals Around the World. Actually, I have been to One Flew South in the ATLanta airport which I found over rated so there is that. Oh wait, I have also been to the Turkish Airlines business class lounge just a few weeks ago which was fantastic. Speaking of over rated establishments, please hold the raves about Din Tai Fung okay?
I loved Lonely Planet travel guides. And I loved this wonderful story about how it started: How Lonely Planet Founders Tony and Maureen Wheeler Revolutionized the Way We Travel.
I am not into scuba diving but maybe you are: 20 Best Scuba Diving Destinations in the World.
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
Enjoying the Euro 2024 elimination games this year. England barely managed to get past Slovakia with a miraculous goal in the last minute to take it to overtime. Also, get your popcorn ready for Spain vs Germany coming up! Also, what a letdown by both Mexico and USA not making it out of the first round of Copa America.
Going to two shorter posts last week (Tuesday and Friday) did not do anything for blog traffic or conversions. I will post twice again this week and see how it goes. With upcoming possible changes to affiliate links of my favorite bank this “venture” is clearly becoming unsustainable. Blog it and they will come, they said…nope. It is what it is, enjoy while this blog is still alive. I had a brief thought the other day, why not try making the posts even shorter and blog every weekday? Maybe I’ll try it for a week. Someday.
Part of my blog’s mission is to Educate. And here you go lol: Reason why people are putting toilet paper in the fridge as ‘hack’ trend goes viral. If you ask if I would do this, look at the gif at the bottom of the post. Since we are in the subject of toilets, you can sit in one and watch a baseball game: Potty like a rockstar: High-A club rolls out must-see seating option. Hilarious!
I am all caught up with my main job finally. And back on my gym routine. And going all out on physical therapy trying to get back to running while I am back to walking 4 miles per day after taking a long break from it while in Greece.
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
I only pick worthy links to share with you. As there is so much crap out there!
I have this card and highly recommend it. And no, there is nothing for me, it just rocks, especially when you need cash overseas! Stop Paying International ATM Fees: Get the Charles Schwab Debit Card. I keep seeing references to Wise accounts and still trying to figure out why that account is needed when you have the Schwab debit card with you, anyone care to comment?
GENERAL NEWS/PROMOS/NEWBIES/ETC.
If you have them: 6 Excellent Options To Maximize Your Alaska Miles.
I am a fan of Milenomics and I support them. Because when there is no support online content creators just quit #hint. Anyway, they do have a free podcast edition and this was a good one: Ranking Bank Points for Domestic Airfare.
CREDIT CARD CORNER
Please help the small independent blogs like mine continue to exist by supporting them with your credit card clicks below, thank you!
I will indicate with NEW every new section as the rest is the same from the previous blog post and will finally roll off those parts as these offers expire, thank you.
NEW: I still don’t get why anyone does not get the Capital One Venture X card. And keep it, it pays for itself. Just imagine when they build more than three airline lounges! As Airport Lounges Overflow With Travelers, Capital One Gets It Right. And just amazed this bank has not raised the card’s annual fee yet.
NEW: Yes there is a way to get the Southwest Companion Pass to last you through the end of 2026: Timing it Right! How To Get Two Years of Southwest Companion Pass with Business Card Bonus.
US banks always have new credit card offers. And Southwest card offers change constantly. So, you should never go for a Southwest card with a Signup Bonus of 50,000 points or less ok? And here we go with two Southwest offering business cards offering 120,000 Points. And all personal Southwest cards are back to only 50,000 Signup Bonus offers again.
Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Credit Card and Business Performance Credit Card are offering a signup bonus of up to 120,000 points:
Earn 80,000 points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from your account opening.
Plus, earn an additional 40,000 points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 9 months
MY ACTION
I revived the dormant TravelBloggerBuzz Instagram account and giving it another go, follow me there please, I finally reached 100 followers. So, when do sponsors reach out? Just kidding.
I posted more video walkthroughs from my recent stays at the Bangkok Hyatt Regency, Philadelphia Hyatt Centric, Thessaloniki Hyatt Regency, Chicago Hyatt Regency, Chicago Hyatt Centric in the TravelBloggerBuzz YouTube channel, click on Videos to see them chronologically. And subscribe to finally go over 23 subscribers, LOL.
Not much else going on. I did a shopping promo for United miles and scored 2,500 miles. And I am in the process of doing more credit card based promos with my no annual fee United Gateway card. Which I am really happy with as it does give more award seat access. And spend based easy promos keep coming. One should get me 12,000 United miles soon.
So looking forward to staying at this property later this year: 5 Things I Loved About the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur.
Just realized that there is an annual limit of 100,000 Capital One points from referrals, shoot!
ADVANCED
There has been a flurry of award search software business ventures that have come aboard lately, it is hard to keep track of them all. I must say I find this one is the one I use more lately: PointsYeah Review.
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 Sapphire Reserve, 75k CHASE United Business, 75k CAPITAL ONE Venture Rewards, 150k AMEX Business Platinum, two 120k CHASE Southwest Business cards, $1,000 Cash Back CHASE Ink Business Premier, 75k Citi Strata Premier, 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 1,109,513 miles/points year to date (1,148,286 in 2023) and have 4,137,127 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.
TOP THREE TRAVEL REWARDS CREDIT CARD OFFERS RIGHT NOW
The Capital One Venture X card offers a 75,000 point Signup Bonus after a minimum spend of $4k in the first three months. If you like simplicity and looking for one (premium) card, I highly recommend this card (and yes, I have it myself!). It has an annual fee of $395 but it comes with an easy $300 statement credit for travel booked on its decent travel portal, essentially turning it into a $95 annual fee card. But wait, there is more! On each card anniversary you earn 10,000 points essentially making it FREE! Every dollar of spend earns 2 points and flights booked on the travel portal earn 5 points per dollar. You get access to Capital One and Plaza Premium airport lounges and a Priority Pass Select lounge membership and, this is important, you can add FOUR authorized users FOR FREE who can also have their own Priority Pass Select airline lounge membership and, this is BIG, they can bring in unlimited guests with their FREE Priority Pass card! You can transfer your Capital One points to up to 18 Transfer Partners. No foreign transaction fees. Free Hertz President’s Circle rental car top elite status. Cell phone protection and PRIMARY rental car coverage. Awesome seats at baseball stadiums for just 5k points each. And lots more.
The Chase Ink Business Cash and Chase Ink Business Unlimited card offers are back down to a 75,000 Signup Bonus! These are NO ANNUAL fee cards.
The Chase Ink Business Cash earns 5x on office supply stores and internet/cable/phone services and 2x on gas and restaurants. Why don’t you go to Office Depot and buy gift cards of the stores you usually shop at, hello 5x Amazon! The card now offers the 75k Signup Bonus in two stages (and a 10% relationship bonus if you have a Chase business checking account) after $6k spend in the first six months.
The Chase Ink Business Unlimited card works differently, it just earns 1.5x on everything. So if you were going to use a credit card to earn 1x why don’t you pull this one out instead? Bottom line, I think these are still the BEST business travel rewards cards out there right now! The 75k Signup Bonus can be earned after $6k of spend on the card in the first three months.
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.
Thank you for reading my blog. If you enjoy it please forward it to a family member or friend. Or Buy Me a Coffee, thank you!
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.
George
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This site may receive compensation for sending traffic to partner sites. Travel Blogger Buzz and Your Best Credit Cards may receive a commission from card issuers. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not necessarily include all financial companies or all available financial offers. The editorial content on this page is not provided by any of the companies mentioned, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone.
Good to remember Don Estridge! I bought the IBM PC that I could barely afford
because of the great detachable keyboard. Working with a keyboard / screen
screwed up my back … yipes!
Thank you for always taking the time to comment. Sometimes I wonder if anyone cares. This blogging thing is really lonely and hard, how do others do it? Oh wait, they are big companies employing lots of staff lol.
>>I keep seeing references to Wise accounts and still trying to figure out why that account is needed when you have the Schwab debit card with you, anyone care to comment?
My comment: I searched a long time to find a reasonable method of sending money to relatives in Europe. Wise works well for this.
Thanks for the feedback. I have a Greek bank account I use to send money to others (mostly gifts) and pay my mom’s bills in Greece. And when I travel the Schwab Debit card works great. Now if I ever retire abroad, say in Thailand, I guess maybe then a Wise account could be a backup if my Schwab account linked to its debit card ever has any issues. Trying to think through this.
Lots of payments in Thailand (rent for one) are only done at bank transfers. If you don’t have a local bank account or don’t want to get one (rumors the Thai gov’t might come after you for taxes if you “make” too much), Wise works great for those transfers. Getting bank accounts in other countries can be near on impossible as an American due to demands of Uncle Sam to track us abroad.
Sorry to be late to comment, but things here have been….um. Never mind. Just finished the article on the IBM-PC. Great read! Same with the Lonely Planet article! Much good stuff as always!
Thanks for keeping going, George. I always, ALWAYS enjoy and appreciate the blog!
Watch the Last Barf Bag, I think you will love it. And thank you for the support…it’s like it only comes from about six of you guys.
Gotta say .. I gave up these travel conferences a decade ago because frankly they cut into time I could be spending enjoying the world. Plus I saw too many inflated egos in some (not all) speakers and panelists.
Yeah, same 🙂
The conferences are marketing to bring in new meat, errr, I mean, new people at 0/24 to prep them to travel “for free” if only they would so by clicking the cc affiliate links. My site sold 2 cards last month, thanks to David and another reader. Maybe I should start my own conference or speak at one of these conferences? Naaaah, don’t like the marketers pumping it up 🙂
I really think the Lonely Planet guides have gotten less valuable. My wife and I went to England in May. It was our first trip there and I bought a LP guide to help out on where to eat and what to do in Oxford and The Cotswolds. Problem was, unlike previous guides there was very very little information on those topics. The guide also was pretty sparse on places to stay. If a travel guide isn’t much help on where to stay, what to do, or where to eat then I’d say that it’s not much good.
While I’m very skeptical about The Forward Cabin and its author I’d say that the review of The Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur seems pretty accurate. Both my wife and I loved the hotel and I think you will too.
Agree on both, thank you.
Meanwhile, there goes the BA Avios awards flying AA and Alaska Airlines…just some months away from a devaluation and now boom! Good I did not get more another BA card, one less program to worry about, I think I have less than 100k Avios left. Can’t wait for more posts from bloggers pumping the Chase BA Avios cards again
My hubby and I, too, enjoyed the Grand Hyatt KL. We had the Towers for our view. I don’t think we closed the curtains at night. It was magical.
Due to an infection by the lazyitis virus today…no time to produce a Friday post. Let’s all enjoy the Fourth of July weekend, going to join the nation in pretending tomorrow is a work day, see you Tuesday!
And thanks for the reader who got a credit card on July 1st. You are first and the only one, hoping for more, Chase 120k Ink Business Preferred links coming in a week or so.
We love our WISE account. Best account to have if you are not US resident. We are long term Schwab customers and have our investments with them, but every time we move overseas they auto close that account and ATM card.
BTW what did you think of the beach at HR Phuket? Would you recommend, is it good for swimming? We are trying to decide between a return to Andaz Pattaya, HR Phuket or now should we consider the GH KL?
Yeah, Schwab and US brokerage companies get touchy with Americans moving abroad. Maybe not let them know and keep a US address?
Ok, getting a Wise account if I ever leave the US which is definitely not in the works for a long while, if ever.
I did not think at all abt the Phuket HR beach, just not one to use with so many others in the island, pass!
The KL GH is turning out to be a gem and a great way to end our Asia trip and really looking forward to staying there.
Will likely leave that Andaz for another time, it looks great.
Keeping the Schwab checking account and ATM card gets very tricky. We don’t have any family in the US and after a while it feels like an imposition to put the responsibility on friends. At this time we don’t plan on returning to ever live in the US again, but have to admit we have said that on at least 3 occasions but somehow always bounce back there. The trading account is not such a big deal as we get moved to Schwab International. We never told them we left and certainly did not have mail going back to them so obviously US Post Office must sell the info to them when people move as they contacted us.
Hmm thanks for the intel on those Asian properties. I am thinking I will shift our stay from Pattaya to GHKL. Always good to shake things up a bit and try new properties.
Good info on Schwab, thanks.
No beaches anywhere near KL though 🙂
You can get a forwarding mailbox. Try these guys, I found them to be the best value and have great reviews. I’ve been abroad for years, used my Schwab ATM non-stop, and don’t think I’ve ever gotten a useful or important piece of mail from Schwab. Perhaps once when I had some fraud activity they sent the message home.
https://www.sbimailservice.com/
that Wind Map is cool. I use an app on my iphone called Windy. Has saved me from storms while on Motorbike trips as you can flip to the live radar! It’s great. Looks to have a web version too. https://www.windy.com/?3.506,116.437,5,m:dBmai3t
Ryan,
Great feedback on Wise, forwarding mailbox service and Schwab and Windy, much appreciated.
I need to get out, too much Euro Soccer and Copa Americas lately 🙂
I watched some of the games and well, national teams readily adopt a conservative style of play. France vs Portugal, zzzzzzz. England….. seriously, most players are either in bad shape or way overpaid. I remember much more exciting games in the WC. France vs Argentina comes to mind.