I finally made an “About Me” page! It is on the upper right corner under the Home link.
I am George, a 45 year old living in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I have earned millions of miles/points ever since I got into this hobby addiction since the mid 90s. I currently hold about 3.7 million miles/points across 97 different loyalty programs.
I am a veteran of this quirky hobby and have been observing its growth for over 15 years. I discovered Flyertalk around the year 2000. I am currently earning more miles/points than I can burn; yes, there are worse misfortunes you can have! I have done crazy things such as flying for three days/nights in a row in a circle around the US, flying to Amsterdam via Honolulu, did immediate turnarounds in several cities, had hair loss consultations even though I still have all my hair, bought over 100 small coffees from local restaurants for a single promotion, did the infamous Valumags promotion, had the UPS guy mad at me for hauling numerous boxes full of dollar coints, managed to snag a lifetime Platinum Elite membership in Fairmont Executive Club, participated in several DOs and the Star Mega DO II event. There are many many others skipping my mind! My favourite ice cream flavor is Vanilla. This hobby is like crack. Once you fall for it, there is no cure. Symptom of the disease is memorable travel experiences around the world in the meantime…it’s not so bad, really!
I have been a very faithful Northwest Airlines flyer and really miss them. I have had a good run of Gold and Platinum Elite status with NWA and Delta for several years even though all my travel is on my own dime. Starting in 2013 I have decided to become a free agent and am no longer an Elite flyer. I am adjusting well, thank you for your concern.
I have made many friends over the years in this hobby. I see it more as group therapy. Friends you make in this hobby really understand you and are willing to tolerate your eccentricities! When others will think you are completely nuts your miles/points friends will think you are completely normal and in fact they may challenge you that you are not hitting a deal hard enough! Please do not fall for this group think…it’s okay, there will be another deal in the near future again!
I am married and my wife has learned to tolerate my quirkiness and my two kids have traveled so much more than their peers is ridiculous! My son is a teenager now who had the balls to tell me the other day “Dad, we travel too much, I want to stay home”….I couldn’t believe my ears, where did he go so wrong?
I have also managed to have some good luck over the years with sweepstakes/contest winnings. Some prizes included a trip to French Polynesia, trip (for 6) to Sea World, a RT trip to London on Virgin Atlantic (going mid April 2013 & connecting on to Norway!), a fully paid Star Mega DO II trip (won the Lufthansa contest on Twitter) 60,000 Starwood points and numerous other smaller prizes.
I mostly enjoy the hunt for the deal and scoring it! I am currently driving a new Mercedes for six months and I get paid for it. I have details on this blog post. Who needs a free rental car code?
This blog is an eclectic journey in the travel miles/points blogoshpere and I hope it improves your quality of life in a certain degree (mostly because of laughter or perhaps you learned something or even got inspired).
In real life I own my own business and mostly deal with people and their money. My third passion is soccer. I used to watch many movies but gave those up for blogging:-)
Thank you for reading.
George
TravelBloggerBuzz
travelbloggerbuzz@gmail.com
@FlyerTalkerinA2
Hi,
I’m an addict too. Just like early humans, I have not evolved from the hunting and gathering stage. My mode of travel has.
3.7 million miles/points? What happened to earn and burn?
I have always said “I excel in earning, I suck in burning”
Right I was gonna ask the same thing. Looks like you have earned, but not “redeemed” millions of miles and points.
And where is the pic of you with a bow tie, the wife holding vanilla reloads. I wouldn’t go to mother-in-laws in swimsuits but sounds like you are not a true blogger. haha
@MickeyW, this guy’s got kids. Who can resist a cute picture of a child holding a credit card? I’ld click on that in a heart beat. I’m all for kids using CCs! Add in a cute kitten or a rabbit and you got a winner.
Hey, some great ideas, thanks! My daughter loves cameras!
Great bio but not enough affiliate links!
Rome was not built in a day ya know:-)
common, where are those links? 😛
You *KNOW* they’re a comin’…
May be coming sooner than everyone thought;-)
Cool to learn about the man behind the blog. I had fun reading the section on contests and sweepstakes you’ve won. Your enthusiasm is infectious. Instead of coming off like bragging, your accomplishments got me excited and thinking, “Wow, I want to do that too!” I like how you state this is more addiction than hobby, ha ha!
Thanks for you kind words Marcus. Sadly, there is no cure:-)
“My favourite ice cream flavor is Vanilla. …”
Go back to the Commonwealth, boring-ice-cream-flavor lover!
“This hobby is like crack. Once you fall for it, there is no cure.”
I’m pretty sure there’s a cure for crack addiction. I’ve been to Narcotics Anonymous meetings.
“Symptom of the disease is memorable travel experiences around the world in the meantime…it’s not so bad, really!”
So in other words, it’s not like crack at all.
I kid, I kid. Time to come clean.
About me: I am a 14-foot tall giraffe at the Seneca Park Zoo. I occasionally step on a keyboard left in my enclosure and type out nonsense. Some of this nonsense ends up in blog comments sections.awcfrasdfcj;o,ojknljnion
harvson3.aisvfja,,jv
Lol, you crack me up. I do have a pet giraffe in my back yard too you know;-)
So Mr. P is planning on pulling off a huge April Fool’s prank and you are helping him with it?