We bring you the dismal news of American Airlines new dynamic awards, AA credit card rewards abuse, the new SECURE Act, how bloggers are killing deals and never say they are sorry, register for the next subpar Hilton Honors promotion, new British Airways route to the US, the world’s highest paid athletes over the past thirty years, visualizing Moore’s law, an amazingly touching story about two lovers in Auschwitz reunited after 72 years, world poverty is not as bad as you think, there is an online murder market, a super funny Key & Peele episode, I rant about my disappearing hobby against the business men bloggers, so many hits, a few tidbits about my last travel hacking adventure to Cancun and more!
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MILES & POINTS
The hits on this hobby just keep on coming! American Airlines New Dynamic Awards. They are working on the partners next. This “hobby” is getting so much harder now that is so dominated by readers who read The Points Guy. These readers are much more lucrative to the banks and the airlines/hotels. Instead of us more experienced folks who can squeeze value as we do best. But the bottom line is, in a multi year stretch, that this value is getting harder to squeeze! But you won’t be reading stuff like this from other miles and points blogs as they depend on this space for their livelihood.
Not only that…The spread of the AMEX RAT teams is now spreading. Be very afraid. Especially when you do things you are not supposed to. American Airlines Cracking Down on Credit Card Rewards “Abuse”. If you did things a blogger told you to do and now your AAdvantage account is wiped out, perhaps you should stop reading that blog? I don’t know…Maybe that is the LEAST thing you should do!
Register HERE for the next Hilton Honors promotion. “From January 6–May 3, earn as many Points as possible with 2,000 Points every stay PLUS 10,000 Points every 10 nights. Stay. Earn. Repeat.“ And hotel promotions just continue to get worse…
Suddenly, British Airways Avios look better with the introduction of AA dynamic awards! So, check out this new route! British Airways launches Portland, Oregon (with lots of Avios availability!).
My 3 night award stay at the Cancun Hyatt Zilara posted very quickly. Like the next day after checkout, pretty impressive! And this was my brand #5 I stayed in. And voila, another free night earned. Je suis TBB 🙂
TRAVEL
During my short vacation in Cancun, I read up on Machu Picchu. I am concerned about my wife handling the high altitude if we go for the Inca Trail…Thoughts?
Not much here today. I don’t do filler stuff like so many blogs. When something worthy makes it through my tough screens, it will appear here.
PERSONAL FINANCE
The world’s highest paid athletes from 1990 to 2019. WOW! Too many boxers in this, sad!
Looks like there will be a new tax law passed titled the SECURE Act. Here is some good info on it as we are all waiting to be signed into law by the impeached President: 5 Ways the Secure Act Would Affect Retirement, 529 Plans.
Update: Here is a better article about the SECURE Act: How the SECURE Act Will Impact Your Retirement Savings.
ODDZ & ENDZ
This is very cool! Visualizing Moore’s Law in Action. 1971 to 2019
One of the most touching stories I read while I was working on my tan in Cancun 🙂 Lovers in Auschwitz, Reunited 72 Years Later.
Stop bitching. World Poverty is Lower Than You Think.
This is just sick. Click Here to Kill The dark world of online murder markets.
Ok, lets laugh you guys. Key & Peele – East/West College Bowl.
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.
This hobby used to thrive on staying under the radar among a small community of people usually revolving around FlyerTalk. Bloggers used to blog to tell friends and family how to travel for free. Until the founder of Frugal Travel Guy cashed his first commission check from selling credit cards. That was the beginning of the long slide to the end. Of course he sold way too early but not before telling The Points Guy how much money can be made in selling credit cards. And the rest has been history I guess. Some bloggers make a living blogging about tips to earn more miles. To create more traffic they need more tips to impress the newbies. And to sell them travel rewards credit cards. Again, because that is where the money is in this space! You are just a target out there.
Hey TBB, you may say, you are a hypocrite, you sell them cards too! Yes I do sell them, mostly to my family and friends lol. Four last month and five this month. SAD! Anyway, I forgot my main point when I started writing this section. Oh yeah. Case in point: Bloggers blog about how you can earn 10 elite nights in the Marriott Bonvoy program to make the next elite level status by arranging for a meeting in a Marriott hotel. Then BOOM, Marriott kills it. So, they blog again to tell us all about it and how unfair it is. And keep the page views coming…And the circle jerk of killing everything in sight…just goes on. What pisses me off is these bloggers NEVER apologize for contributing to the killing of the deal. You know, blogging about it does NOT help. Oh wait, you were doing it to help friends and family travel for free…Riiiiiight!
And the MS avenues (one of the only bright spots in this hobby) also continue to get hit! Another Devaluation – Plastiq Eliminating Gift Cards As A Payment Option.
Press Release quote of the year from Accor (HT: Raffles of Head for Points)
‘ALL is elevating Accor’s relationship with clients, members & partners from transactional to emotional and inventing a completely new aspirational way to live limitless.’ [LOL]
I will be in NYC Midtown Sunday and Monday burning free night certs at the Conrad and the Plaza. Travel hackers doing what we do best 🙂 Son is supposed to take us to some must eat places, he is the foodie in the familia.
I signed up for my first race in 2020. The old reliable University of Michigan Big House 5k race on April 19.
My daughter got accepted into the University of Michigan next year, hooray! We now have to wait until February to see if she got into the Ross Business School. She was smiling so much, super happy. She really worked hard for it!
Frequent Traveler University seminars are back in 2020. WTF, really? I guess the bloggers need to tell friends and family how to travel for free work on their target market to sell them more.
And I leave you with this…
TBB
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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!
The comments on DOC suggest a sense of entitlement. That makes things easy to spot.
Silver for the glory and honor of Rome!! Great story on those lovers from Auschwitz!! Thanks!
Merry Christmas to all! Silver!
Sigh… Carl ruined my Christmas and I’m stuck with bronze.
Well, look at it this way… DML ruined my Gold! He must have the fastest internet in the world!
Happy Holidays!
You are all Golden here you guys 🙂
Another comment because the more I think about this, the more ticked I get… George, you write:
“Case in point: Bloggers blog about how you can earn 10 elite nights in the Marriott Bonvoy program to make the next elite level status by arranging for a meeting in a Marriott hotel. Then BOOM, Marriott kills it. So, they blog again to tell us all about it and how unfair it is. And keep the page views coming…And the circle jerk of killing everything in sight…just goes on. What pisses me off is these bloggers NEVER apologize for contributing to the killing of the deal.”
SO true. Soon as I read Marriott was killing this, the instant first thought that I had was, “I knew this would happen. I’ve been reading about this everywhere!”
I wonder how many losses Marriott hotels took on faked meetings and low cost whatevers that people planned just to get the elite nights? You know it had to attract attention fast up where the bean-counters are. Not to mention… Who thinks that any of these companies *don’t* read all the main blogs? They pay attention.
I got into this late just a few years ago and I think I’ve seen so many deals killed, it is just ridiculous.
When a new one comes along, it gets blatted about like mad and you can bet on it getting killed.
Watch those “Great Turkish Airlines Deals” get slaughtered soon! From what I have seen they might already be getting hard to get.
It’s been like this since…bloggers started making money off their blogs…
Eh?
Hotel makes a few $ off a meeting.
Marriott gives out, at zero cost, some night credit. Logically, to people who are good customers because they are within 10 night of top tier.
With status, they will stay more next year.
The hotels foot the bill for your free breakfast, not Marriott.
I am surprised Marriott cares.
Well, they cared enough to shut it down…It’s like these companies have started to care about how they are perceived/taken advantage of by entitled ones like us? 🙂
In a grand scale…this is not a big deal by itself. But it continues a trend that has been going on…for years.
Congrats to your daughter.
Altitude isn’t much of a problem on the Inca trail, other than the Dead Woman’s Pass climb on the second morning where (if I remember correctly) you get to ~12000′ (it’s an exhausting morning – the only place I used my hiking sticks). After that, the hike isn’t particularly difficult and it’s downhill to MP (with easy intermediate smaller climbs along the way). Cannot recommend enough to do the 5-day hike rather than the 4-day that almost everyone else does – you’ll have the trail and campgrounds almost exclusively for your group (and not sharing with the ~500 people/porters who go each day). 4-day hikers rush ahead on the second day. Again, do the 5-day – feels like your own private tour on days 3-4-5 – you’ll have more time to see the sites along the way and walk shorter distances most days. Besides doing the 5 day hike, the best tip is to splurge and stay up top at MP at the Belmond Santuary Lodge (every other property is down in Aguas Caliente). Staying at the Belmond will avoid the sometimes hours-long bus queues. REALLY nice to be able to take a hot shower after 5 days on the trail – it’s a splurge, but well worth it (get a bigger courtyard room if.possible – less expensive rooms overlook the parking lot where the many buses park/turn around). Trust me – you won’t regret spending the money once you see the location about 100′ from the entrance to MP. Don’t bother taking the Hiram Bingham train – it’s a rippoff. Take the mid-tier train back. Get the 10 am tickets to hike Huayna Picchu because early morning showers are common at MP and unless you’re a glutton for punishment, you’ll want to sleep in after 5 days on the trail – Huayna Picchu is a short but quite steep climb (sometimes climbing stairs cut into rock) – your wife might pass on that unless she’s in good shape. Book way in advance – especially the Belmond Sanctuary Lodge – high-end tours can easily book up the nicer rooms a year out. Also, Inca trail tour groups book up quickly. In Cusco, recommend staying at the JW Marriott El Convento – good value/nice rooms in a relatively new property (a converted convent). The Palacio del Inca property is older/more atmospheric but and we found the rooms were stuffy (no AC in most rooms – not fun at that altitude) and left after one night to stay at the JW. There is a newer Hilton Garden Inn but it’s not convenient to old part of town where you want to stay. Recommend you go spring or fall and avoid the worst summer crowds (MP is a victim of it’s own success)
Great feedback, thank you so much!
For the altitude, there’s pills you can take but there are side effects involved. You can chew the coca leaves or drink the tea – it helps.
Mostly, just make sure you get to Cusco beforehand by a couple days as it’ll give you some time to acclimate. Cusco is actually higher in elevation than Machu Picchu so don’t do anything too physical for a couple days and you should be fine. Drink water, avoid alcohol, etc. etc.
Good article:
https://www.tripsavvy.com/machu-picchu-and-altitude-1619981
Wife and I did Machu Picchu last October – it’s amazing. We didn’t hike the Inca Trail, just took the train from Ollantaytambo and back. Not that we don’t enjoy strenuous hikes but for one, we aren’t big fans of group activities and more importantly two, weren’t sure how my wife’s asthma would do on a hike like that*. So the rail option is certainly fine if you’re not sure or just want to save time (agree that using the standard train is fine – no need for the expensive one).
Of course you’ll still be encountering high altitudes at Cusco and a bit lower at Ollanta. MP itself is only a tad under 8K feet so not too bad. You don’t have to walk much at Ollantaytambo if you don’t want, and there are taxis for getting around in Cusco if need be.
The bus from Aguas Calientes to MP can be a long wait at peak times. We didn’t wait more than about 15 minutes on either end though. Stayed at a small hotel right in front of the bus pickup spot – fine for a night.
Personally I’m glad we spent a few days just hanging around in Ollanta and exploring the local area. It was relaxing.
We spent a few days in Arequipa before hitting the Sacred Valley area. DIdn’t have time to explore Colca Canyon but Arequipa is a nice city to spend a couple of days. Saw the “Ice Maiden”. LATAM (at least at the time) runs a couple of non-stops to CUZ so it made for an easy transition.
We did the Montana mountain hike instead of the Huayna Picchu since the former is higher and less busy. (Montana is the peak opposite HP at MP.) Loved it – I’d definitely recommend one or the other.
One tip: If you do either Montana or HP, however much water you think is enough – double it if you can. At least at the time, no water is sold on within the gates of MP (officially – the attendant at the Montana entrance has a small stash of bottled water he’ll sell to you if you’re desperate – which I was! lol!) If you’re only walking around the citadel it’s not that bad though – a bottle or two is fine most likely
Actually we spent 2 days at MP. Day one to just explore the citadel and day 2 for the Montana hike and revisiting anything. This also provided us an afternoon and a morning visit to catch different lighting. Glad we did, as I was down for the count with food poisoning on Day 1 so the wife went alone. I was barely functional on Day 2 but managed to make the Montana hike then wander through the citadel afterwards.
* She had no breathing trouble at all so we ended up doing some long-ish day hikes in the hills around Ollanta. But there’s no real way to predict who will get severe altitude sickness and who won’t. Even levels of fitness aren’t predictors. You can get some medicine to try in case. And/or try the coca leaves – though there’s no scientific evidence the leaves work, locals still swear by it.
Thanks for the comments on MP you guys, much appreciated!
What Ryan said—you literally can’t predict how someone will perform at altitude. Have her get a script for Diamox, start using it before she needs it. Coca leaves seem to help, at least psychologically.
Geez don’t pain about which non-cultural points hotel to pick. Instead pay the pittance a Peru hotel costs and actually contribute to a local economy to help offset the costs of tourism.
I stayed at HGI, even though it is not closed to old town (walkable but not easy to get back to hotel from downtown where you walk uphill) but HGI was also good when it comes to location.
Very troubling story on that Harpers piece. Thank you for posting it, but it is definitely haunting.
Yes it is…Knew it was TBB worthy material as soon as I started reading.
Yeah I remember Ingy doing that TV interview on Dateline or whatever the program was. Then you have TPG out there spreading the “gospel”, complete with his credit-card suits.
It was Nightline. And I was there watching him…sharing “advice” to friends and family how to travel for free.
And just think of all the people that got to see and do things they never could have afforded to do without the hobby. Why are you so bent on others not having the same opportunity you were given?.
It helped change my life for the better. But I guess once you knew about the hobby, nobody else was supposed to learn about it?
Sounds kind of selfish to me
I saw his eyes getting ready to do the Nightline interview and I swear all I saw was dollar signs! This dude never did anything without thinking how he can get suckers to help him make more money. Remember the charity he was going to get to…after selling out so ridiculously early as George says…Yeah, right. It didn’t help conversions much so he abandoned it…
This “HOBBY” is toast for those of us who have had the pleasure to Max the living hell out of it over the years. Now all we are left with are a few crumbs (crap cards that we can still get, MS) …..it was great while it lasted, but I am sure we all wish we hit it harder (that’s what she said). My only regret is that I cannot qualify for any more cards using Georges Credit Card Links.
MEDAL…..Pig Iron from the PDX
U can qualify for….secured cards…right? 🙂
thanks for the PDX/LHR heads up, but 2 round trip Business Class seats price out at 300k + $2500+……OUCH……….no tea and crumpets for me
Secured Cards….is this a trick I do not know about? Or just a sad joke on the state of the “Hobby”. Fico 813
Congrats to your daughter!
Gracias senor! Sure made Christmas for my daughter to arrive a little faster! Her dream was to go where her brother went…But there may be developments as she has applied to three “reach” schools too. But the pressure is certainly off for her.
What happened to young women being Au-pair? In the good old days, this was a golden opportunity for a well off husband to cheat on his wife.
Secured Cards….is this a trick I do not know about? Or just a sad joke on the state of the “Hobby”. Fico 813
Hi George. Congrats on your daughter. Mine is a sophomore at Ross. If you have any questions she (We) can help.
Altitude in Machupicchu and especially Cusco is a problem. A perfectly healthy guy in our group got sick at the airport upon landing and needed oxygen. People will react differently to it. I did not suffer but did not feel normal during the week trip either. I had trouble sleeping and digestion. We loved both Tambo del Inka in Urubamba (which has a train station in the hotel) and Palacio del Inka in Cusco. We did two small hikes and that was enough for me because of the altitude.
I stayed at HGI, even though it is not closed to old town (walkable but not easy to get back to hotel from downtown where you walk uphill) but HGI was also good when it comes to location.