Lets go on a quick wild ride through the Mile Madness event in Charlotte!
TBB Blog Mission: To Entertain. Educate. Inspire. In That Order
You can support TBB by clicking/forwarding any of our Referral Links and starting your online shopping at our Amazon affiliate link . Or click on the Amazon Banner on the right, thank YOU!
I just got back home on Sunday afternoon and need to make this short post to express my thoughts about what I just experienced before we treat Mommy to a nice dinner she deserves.
This was the best miles related meeting I have attended! Seriously, it wasn’t even close. It was a combination of all the following:
- Smaller size. I believe attendance was around 100 so you got to meet almost everyone and have meaningful conversations.
- Speaker caliber. True expertise from people who do this every day (ok, some do this stuff 24/7!). Did I mention TRUE experts who do this EVERY day? Oh, yes I did. Sorry about that 🙂
- No commercials “click my links” allowed. No freaking booths and speakers you never got to even say hello to!
- The vibe was so good it brought tears to my eyes (expertly concealed from TBB fans). Taking it all in brought me a feeling of contentment #priceless.
- Meeting and mingling with each other and everyone acknowledging the true spirit of our quirkiness knowing full well that pumping Chase Ink Bold credit card affiliate links in every other post just BLOWS.
- Fantastic hotel and easily accessible location (with miles of course).
I am just going to post whatever comes to my mind in the same eclectic non angry manner. If I veer off and get angry a little bit, well…it happens sometimes. You all know what makes me angry by now lol. “No rhyme or flow, just go!”. Hmm, I just made that up, it rhymes pretty good!
You know you are in with fellow minded hobbyists when:
Heard in the elevator:
Attendee to Marathon Man: “I want to talk to you.”
Marathon Man: ” I hope you are not from the IRS.”
MilesAbound: “New York City is a complete MS wasteland”.
Marathon Man: “MRing to MS” and “Ask not what you can do for your Suntrust. Ask what you can do for your Wal Mart”.
“There was not one but TWO blog posts on Hawaiian Eats at Million Mile Secrets? Can you believe it?” [TBB: Yes I can].
“I know this WalMart cashier and I just tell her “load me”. She knows what to do.”
I am only going to single out two people I met that I have known/followed/enjoyed in Flyertalk for years. I am not going to single out everyone else I met because I can go on for hours, you know I love you! One is Marathon Man who gave the best presentation of the meeting (they were all good to great by the way!). Natural born speaker who does MS for a living. And his philosophy behind MS (which I agree with of course) and its message was heard loud and clear: “Be a good steward of MS”. “Take care of the community”. Some of the examples he gave how he played the game were just mind boggling and they made me feel like Georgie boy in kindergarten class! I think I need to ramp it up so I can buy a Soviet tank too! The other person I have known for years in FT was AlohaDaveKennedy, one of the most gracious members of this community. And yes he assured me that the Cardinals are always watching 🙂
“If I read another First Friday Dining with a Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card I am going to %*&$#$” (insert several iterations of angry words, many starting with F!).
Tahsir Bengali Miles Guru‘s question to the audience: “Do you have an Ink Bold card? If not, go to Hack My Trip for a link”. Laughter! It was intended as a joke and it was greatly received. I thought it was funny too after I had to slap myself and realize this was indeed a joke 🙂
Tahsir and Amol (who also writes at Hack My Trip) also made me feel like I am in Elementary school. Which is strange as Tahsir looks like he goes to Elementary school! Actually he is about to graduate from college in Economics and may go on to get an MS (pun intended).
Amol: “Thanksgiving is the best time to get your family on board with MS”. And I thought I was doing great handling four Bluebirds #Iamapeeon.
The whole spirit of this game was nicely expressed in the presentation of MilesAbound who talked about the “Essence of MS” and “how to think” about this stuff.
I am shocked and so grateful for all the amazing feedback I received on my blog. I really did not expect this. I am kind of overwhelmed as I was thinking to fold this baby as the time demand to produce it is something I should not be able to handle. But I can not let you down. I feel like I am contributing to improve this community and the positive feedback to me is just priceless. At the same time it feels a bit weird as I have never looked for the spotlight and fame. I have always done what I think is right, speak my mind and contribute to something bigger than pure selfish activities while having a good time and , someway somehow, everything tends to work out. I will keep this baby as long as I can. THANK YOU for all the support.
At times I wondered if I am one of the few angry people out there having the same feelings towards blogs who have sold out and are out there pumping credit cards daily. Let me assure you that this is NOT the case and MANY are turned off by the sheer aggressive commercialism that has infected this hobby and sometimes you wonder if this cancer has spread so much that it can not be stopped. The ones who are not turned off are people new to the hobby who just don’t know any better! I thought I was only having a tiny effect on just a few more people other than my friends and family. Fellow attendees proved to me that TBB IS making a difference! It IS about the love of the game, helping each other find the best deals so we can travel more and getting assaulted non stop by affiliate credit cards and revealing information to the masses by pseudo experts is NOT healthy for our dear hobby. Friends don’t let friends click on credit card links in TBB’s Ignore List. Let’s help blogs who put readers first and add value to your life without treating you like a bozo telling you for the 867th time you can get 5x points in office supply stores with your shiny Chase Ink credit cards!
Most frequently asked question of me: “How much time do you spend on the blog?”. Let’s just say a lot #ifyouonlyknew #youhavenoidea #insanity
Most innovative idea given to me to monetize: Make T-Shirts with “Do not be a Tool – TBB”. Hmm, interesting one. I appreciate all the ideas. And to the many who told me to get affiliate links and stick them in a separate tab like some of the blogs I support, thank you. For the time being, click the crap out of my Amazon link 🙂 I must have a mental block becoming a big bank salesman, I don’t know. But thank you. As long as we are all entertained things will take care of themselves. It’s only money. I am perfectly fine where TBB is at right now. It’s a journey, let’s focus on enjoying it.
The venue of the event, Charlotte Hyatt House, was FANTASTIC. Apparently, I was still Diamond (for two more days on the Diamond Trial) and got upgraded to a corner suite which was fantastic.
Huge room with full kitchen and refrigerator. Very modern building, spotless. Everyone gets complimentary breakfast! Two omelet stations and plenty of hot foods (this is no Holiday Inn Express crap!). All the staff were fantastic too. The reception on the 7th floor with the bar and servers with some food floating around was great too. The fitness center (yes I made it on Sunday morning even after drinking several margaritas the night before, thanks for the extra tickets!) was great. Location is downtown and we can walk to many places nearby (what’s up with all the Irish pubs in this city?). Getting to/from airport is a short ride (no hotel shuttle) so thanks Pat and Mike for the rides both ways! Meeting room was big enough for our group, everything worked. Again, if every Hyatt House is like this I am more than impressed! I paid for a hotel after a long time so I can claim the expenses off my millions in earnings the Amazon link brings in (hahahaha).
There were several newbies in the audience. Smart newbies willing to learn who realize that the big commercial blogs do not have their interests in mind and they exist to primarily pump more credit cards. Helping and embracing newbies and teaching them how to do this stuff the right way has always been a big part of this sharing community. So, we were glad to have you! Keep learning and ask questions. Do not feel intimidated about some of what you learned. We all do this at our own pace and what we are comfortable with and grow in our own way. You do NOT have to do some of what you heard. Heck, lots of what I heard is impossible for me to do anyway for several reasons. It’s OKAY. #1 Rule: DO NOT CALL
I flew Delta on a “low-saver” award of 32,500 Skypesos. Delta does a fine job in in the air flying planes. I must have the longest no bump streak ever.
I was also surprised about the impact of what we bloggers (funny I still do not think of my self as a blogger…I have always had issues “fitting in” a box or square or whatever) can have on readers. How everything we blog about is a reflection of us, our values and personalities. Readers brought up some stuff I wrote about months ago which led me to wonder “Holy crap, you remembered that?”. I read something a long time ago that online is all about trust. For some reason, what came through for me in this meeting is that, I think, people trust me. I can understand how my day job clients trust me with their finances and all that. But people telling me that to my face when meeting me for the first time (after reading and interacting with me online only) was kind of a wow moment and it shows how technology has changed how we communicate nowadays. I am honored and grateful.
Thank you to everyone who participated in this wonderful experience. As I told Saverocity Matt, he has something really special going here and he must be careful how and where he takes it from here. At the end of the day, the more I think about it is a question of Trust. I trust Matt. Isn’t it remarkable how similar people are face to face with how you perceived them to be after interacting with them online for a long time? Interesting, huh?
I am SO behind on blog reading that it’s not funny. So I need to catch up before I am able to post the next Buzz post. Maybe Monday, maybe Tuesday.
I intended to have the following links of more reviews of the Mile Madness event. I am sure there are and will be more and may add them to this post later.
PFDigest :”The Charlotte event: notes and observations”
Mileage Update: “Mile Madness Event Charlotte 5/10”
MilesAbound: “Charlotte #MileMadness DO – What a Huge Success”
The Free-quent Flyer: “Charlotte DO in review”
Saverocity: “#milemadness Charlotte Exposed!”
Giddie Points: “#Milemadness Do Best Meetup by far”
Miles, Points and Mai Tais: “Final Thoughts on #Milemadness After an Awesome Weekend in Charlotte, NC”
Quick City Visits: “CharlotteDO”
Hack My Trip: “Charlotte Milemadness Thoughts and Review”
Frequent Miler: “Mile Madness and more”
The Miles Professor: “My Charlotte Milemadness Summary: A Great Do”
You can scan the hashtag #milemadness on Twitter for more. And yes there will be a sequel.
Check out my updated blog lists: Blogs I Love, Blogs I Like, Blogs I Ignore
Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!
Please pass my blog link to your friends and family if you think they will enjoy it too.
George
travelbloggerbuzz@gmail.com
Join over 2,686 TBB followers on Twitter @ FlyerTalkerinA2 and add TBB on Google+
Great post! Sorry I missed it……
1st ?
Darn. Anyway it was great to meet up in person TBB. Friendly Guy and Great Blog.
Damn, I promise (myself) I will come next time. I was in NYC enjoying an amazing
short vacation instead… Not an excuse, but still, an attempt…
Fourth?
I felt like a show host- ppl saying “you know George from TBB?!!! Introduce me!!” I was trying to think how I could monetize that with some kind of link on my badge or something. lol
And to echo you, the #milemadness was wonderful. The size was great and not having to chose break out rooms was the best. Each speaker was unique, no one disappointed.
You talk alot about ways to support your blog. Free-quentFlyer has a paypal subscription option. He sends a few “subscriber only” newsletters in addition, but, overall its a simple, easy and low cost way to support his blog (I think I contribute $2 a month). Perhaps you should look into that, to at least offset costs?
PS: It was great to meet you in Charlotte!
Great post n felt good meeting you personally , the great thing about Charlotte do is most of them were true from their heart as your post
Thanks for coming George, I was really pleased with how things turned out. I think we were lucky to have so many good people presenting.
Good not only in ability, but that they had the right attitude to the game.
Made me proud to be a part of it.
Drop everything. Read this http://www.tickld.com/x/this-guy-just-made-the-staff-at-walmart-lose-their-mindsthis-is-genius
And please don’t stop. Or else I would have to start TBB2 which would suck.
That was hilarious.
And George, it was great to meet you and everybody else in person!
F*** me that is the funniest thing I have read in months, my sides are literally hurting right now
I was on the floor laughing uncontrollably and having stomach spams. Wife had to call 911, tied me down and shoved me into the back of an ambulance only to untie myself and start banging on the divider screaming “Turn around NOW and take me to WALMART, I MUST sign as a dick”. After that….I laughed all the way to the hospital where I kindly asked the medical staff to call my wife to pick me up.
Thanks KennyB
P.S. will catch up with the rest of the comments later…I just had to give a shout to KennyB. And yes this will make the next TBB Buzz so lazy readers who do not read the comments can laugh too!
Maybe you have to be the kind of person who visits Walmart too often (like most of the readers of this blog), but this was the funniest thing I’ve read all month. It’s probably even true! It really makes me want to draw an “alternate signature” on one of my credit cards, but I’m probably too “conventional” — after all, those of us doing MS aren’t looking for more entertainment at the Walmart.
Dude, that was so funny!! I have to share that to everyone
What a great event it was! #milemadness is by far my favorite event of this kind. The people, the presenters, the venue, the food and drinks. It rocked. Thanks to Matt at Saverocity and so glad I got to meet so many fellow TBB fans. Just a very refreshing weekend all around.
This just made me incredibly sad I didn’t get to attend… on the other hand, I’m not complaining about having a 6 week old to take care of!
Maybe next year… or sooner? I can only hope lightning strikes twice!
In other news, I love me some Hyatt House… very much enjoy them whenever possible, great option for many a work trip, when I need to be stuck out in some office park.
BBD–I recommend living in whatever city the event gets hosted in, it makes attending a lot easier if you have young ‘uns to deal with.
This was the first miles event that I attended after just 3 months in to this whole thing. Was a pleasure to meet some of the nicest, talented and intelligent bunch of people who have been thinking on best ways to maximize income or miles in best way they could. Matt cares and I mean it. He really cares that people should try innovation but should know their limits. Presentation by MM beat even some of the corporate presentations I have seen. It comes naturally to him and humour too. Frequentmiler was absolute professional. Amol and Tashir were just full of energy and thoughts. Miles professor was female elegance personified. DC broker and miles abound and quick city facts were to the point. FQF was quick and brilliant. Overall great event. Worth every penny and time. And last but not the least it was nice to see you George.
Oh, TBB, I’m so let-down: no pic of your bathroom in the hotel?!?!
Sounds like you had a total ball, and it was a good conference to meet your peers! Happy for you.
George – It was great to meet you. I have to admit I was terrified of you beforehand!
Seriously, loved our enthusiastic conversation…and so glad you aren’t scary in real life.
Let’s help blogs who put readers first and add value to your life without treating you like a bozo telling you for the 867th time you can get 5x points in office supply stores with your shiny Chase Ink credit cards!
Amen to that. Readers have the power to change how bloggers act. Shame I missed out on this, being overseas for so much of the year really does suck sometimes.
Do you like Gladiator movies?
Top notch event. This was my first MS/travel event and worth every penny. Couldn’t believe how much they packed in for the price. Everyone I met was genuine and welcoming. And there were so many others that I didn’t get a chance to meet. Cheers to Matt and ALL the speakers. Very enjoyable weekend.
Curious to hear what ingy thought of the event. Oh wait…. Errrrr
Sounds like a great event with great content, and a great side message – bullys and trolls are not welcome
Kudos guys!
“Isn’t it remarkable how similar people are face to face with how you perceived them to be after interacting with them online for a long time? Interesting, huh?” Well, yes…Ask Matt what he said to me when he met me:) LOL
@Susan: We missed you too. Enjoy your trip. Glad you found your iphone. I think you are falling in love with everything Austrian 😉
@ Mileage Update: Pleasure was all mine meeting in person Ken. I even flew Delta just for you 🙂
@ Andrew: Sounds like a pretty good excuse to me. Next one may sell super fast #hint
@ Nick PFD: May the Fourth be with you. Your Citibank kickstarter was brilliantly funny, I was rolling on the floor!
@konorth: Great seeing you again! See you in Ann Arbor soon. I think you have a great point on the one room feature…
@Trevor: I don’t even have a newsletter yet, too complicated and I may need to create extra content for it…Doing the Buzz posts take most of my time! I am just typing out loud what goes around in my brain. Others can call me names but sell out to the banks is NOT one of them and I am very proud of that so far! Great meeting and drinking with you. And keep maximizing retirement plans at work! 🙂
@srin: Great meeting you too I am sure…but help me connect face to the handle if you want. Yep, that heart thing was evident to me. I sure did not get that feeling at FTU and Chicago events!
@ Matt: Excellent job man. Whilst you were running around keeping everything running smoothly, I was taking it all in. Focus on the baby now!
Ok, what did you tell smittytabb when you met her? 🙂
@ KennyB: That was the funniest read I have come across in a long time. The 911 ambulance almost happened, thanks!
@ smittytabb: Great meeting you Linda. You are even nicer in person even as you come across as the nicest person online! So, it was an honor to meet you! Yeah, had a great time this weekend!
@ Better By Design: Too bad you could not make it but six year olds should always come first. Yeah, the bar is set very high now. Hope you make the next one. Yeah, I was totally blown away by the Hyatt House, wow!
@ Kumar: Hey neighbor, thanks for making it to the meeting and great meeting you in person. You are a quick learner. Be careful, this can get quite addictive. Pace yourself or you’ll start thinking 5x 24/7 365 lol.
@ Elenor: It was great and no toilet pictures here! I guess I could take a lot of pictures of the hotel and do a separate blog post reviewing the hotel. But so many bloggers do that already. I posted my feelings about the hotel. I will not subject you to a separate hotel review report.
@ Pixie Points: Nice meeting you too, we briefly spoke back in LAX FTU. Your comments:
>>>>>> I have to admit I was terrified of you beforehand!
>>>>>> so glad you aren’t scary in real life.
made me laugh and…that’s a good thing! Hmm, I need to look within to see why I may be perceived this way. Deep down, (ok….deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep down) I am not angry at all and, you heard it here first, I am a softie and I cry in movies.
Meow 🙂
@ William Charles: Thanks for the comment. I wish I had a dollar for every comment you leave in other blogs 🙂
@ Maria Sangria: Thanks for the comment and great meeting you in person! Some people may lead you to believe my blog is full of angries….you know the reality now!
@ James: Thanks James, it was great. I noticed the misspelling 😉 That credit card tool at FTG (the blog) is still there recommending to rookie travelers to apply for 5 or 7 credit cards (the same ones, no cash back cards even if the “questionnaire” indicates you are only interested in cash back cards!)…Somebody got to say something and take all the angry names….I am doing it all for you guys 🙂
George, it was great having the pleasure of sitting at your table during the presentations. Please keep doing what you’re doing. Your plight for better blogging seems to be working in my opinion. You keep bloggers (or try to) honest, and I think your calling out of bloggers has started to create better blogging. I for one am very appreciative of your no BS feedback you provide to other bloggers and readers. I am still amazed that you have “cut down to 500 blogs from 600” in your Feedly. Great meeting you and thanks again.
Great meeting you Adam, sorry we did not get the chance to talk more. Thanks for the kind words too, as I said the feedback was beyond my imagination. At times, I thought maybe I was focusing too much on the negative 😉
Geez, all you folks sound insanely angry
If a bunch of angries were all like this, I would be honored to call myself an angry…hehe
It really was a superb time and George captures it beautifully in his review. The venue was perfect, speakers fascinating, attendees smart, funny, friendly and enthusiastic – and it was just terrific to meet some of my favorite bloggers who were all gracious and so open to chatting with their “groupies!”
I know Matt has a busy few months ahead of him but there is already a movement on twitter – started by @PatMikeL, not me 😉 – to do a similar DO number 2 in PDX. It certainly would be a cheaper city than other west coast places, we have a great airport with lightrail directly to the downtown, and for those who frequent stores other than WM for MS, we have no sales tax! Great microbeers, lovely Oregon wines, and a fabulous foodie haven – what more could we want? We may be CVS-less, but you all are spending a lot less time at CVS anyway 😉 !
i would love to go if i am not banned
I think PDX is a great idea. I’ll even nominate myself to organize official happy hour.
I think we should all leave Matt alone so he can focus on welcoming the baby. He has no idea what is in store 🙂 But in a good way I mean…for the most part hehe.
I am not sure a city without a CVS and WM would make the cut 🙂
As I said, let’s let this sink in for a while. No need to rush things…
Angry 🙂 that I couldn’t make the event. Living in Eugene, I would love an event in PDX. Would like to meet some other locals and well as the names that I see here so regularly. Also, I owe Matt @Saverocity a glass of good Oregon Pinot, or two….
I was in Portland just a few months ago and there was a CVS downtown near where I stayed. Am I missing something? Love PDX by the way and it would be a good place for a DO.
What CVS downtown? Did we finally get one?
I think smittytabb may have confused Portland with another city she passed through…there have been so many 🙂
Ha, ha, but true, true…Don’t think I am hallucinating. I even went in it. https://www.google.com/maps/place/1309+NW+23rd+Ave/@45.5322217,-122.6990143,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x549509e55c241853:0x4bb29768fb52a6d7?hl=en
Just checked this store locator – http://www.cvs.com/stores/cvs-pharmacy-locations – and it says “Oregon (currently no CVS/pharmacy stores).” Next time I am in that part of town I will check out that CarePlus – I have a vague memory that I read something about such a store opening. It’d be great if it was a harbinger of things to come!
Just to help you folks settle back into the real world of the blogosphere, TPG answer a question about “which points are worth more – Barclays or SPG Amex?” with links to the CIB and CIP
Did you guys know there’s a 60K offer?
speaking of the 60K offer, is there any doubt that Chase will eventually announce an end date which will lead to post titles such as:
1) Last day to sign up for CIB and CIP with 60K bonus is ______ (posted on day of announcement)
2) Reminder: 1 week left to sign up for CIB and CIP 60K offer (posted with 1 week left)
3) HURRY!!!! Last chance to sign up for CIB and CIP (posted with 1 day left
4) CHASE EXTENDS 60K CIB and CIP OFFER!!!! HURRY!!!! (posted right after Chase “decides” to extend their original date another 2 weeks. Cue blogger acting surprised)
5) CIB and CIP 50K offer drops to 50K. It’s still the greatest thing in the history of mankind
(and about 30 Chase posts in between those 5)
The two under the radar, Deals we Like and PM&M, have been on an amazing cc pump fest in the last few days, wow!
Can I nominate the picture of James Van der Beek crying as the official response to all comments by the resident troll? TBB could just post that picture in reply to all comments and no one else says a thing.
Yes, it sounds good. I hope it works 🙂
Dang, I’m sorry I had to miss this!
I would be sorry too. Sorry about that 🙂
Annual Juggalo meeting:
http://www.avclub.com/article/annual-gathering-juggalos-infomercial-here-204555
George, are you presenting again this year?
You appear to be fascinated by the juggalos Nick. I am not sure…maybe you were a former member or something.
Oh, I am banned I found out. I guess I was not angry enough to make the cut this year. WTF!
Totally agree !
The “feel-good” atmosphere permiated the conferenvce like no other. It was either that good, or the omlette station was spiked…
I enjoyed seeing old friends in the hobby and meeting new ones. There is always something to learn… and I learned a bunch! There was no “cool kids table”, and in fact, every table was a cool kids table.
I also enjoy meeting new people. There are so many people in this hobby “under the radar”, that it’s amazing how much you can learn from talking to anyone!
The great thing about these get-togethers is the validation that we get in this crazy hobby, and we then know that we are not totally insane!
The speakers were amazing!
Marathon Man for President … BMG for VP…
Or we are at least not alone in our insanity! 🙂
TBB would like to endorse that ticket.
MM
BMG
2016