We review the blog action over the weekend!
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This Blog Buzz covers blog action Friday Sep 19 – Sunday Sep 21 so it is a little longer than usual! This was ready to go on Sunday BUT the regular flow of TBB posts was interrupted by the smashing success of the “Top 10 “Moments” from the #BAcon14 Conference in Las Vegas!” post which hit a traffic record!
Another Friday MMS Interview – Million Mile Secrets Blogger giving away two $25 Nordstrom gift cards…so original! Anyways, seen that before. Actually, not as ridiculous as some others earlier! What I found ridiculous is not seeing any credit card links by whoever wrote this and this Steve guy always commenting for the backlink to his blog.
The property is located in the same building as a Starbucks and movie theater which could actually be pretty handy if you were traveling to NYC with a family! – Amazing, in NYC of all cities, wow!
The service overall at the hotel was above average, though sometimes it might have been too good as I think about five different people knocked on the door to check on things within the first hour we were there! – I am certain they do this with all non blogger guests too lol!
How Many Miles Does It Take – One Mile at a Time [Probably one of the more comprehensive posts in the blogosphere. So nobody says Blog Buzz is all negative hehe. But what came to my mind was if someone forgot to insert the 202 credit card links. Yes this post has 202 spots to insert credit card links but, as of the date of writing this post, they were not inserted! I wonder if this was assigned to a staffer who obviously is taking some time to do them all. Got a word for him/her: Go Template-y! Or maybe the “reviews” here got to him 🙂 ]
Weekend Escape to Saint-Tropez – The Points Guy [I like to see the titles of the writers, this one is kind of blah: “Nice-based contributing writer Lane Nieset“. No Director, no Managing Editor/Whatever. Of course the site could not stay away from selling some credit cards even with non credit card focused posts!]
Buy IHG Rewards Points for 0.575 Cents Each, $30 Hotel Rooms – Milevalue [When you read this “... Since points.com handles the transactions, you will not earn bonus miles for the purchase and you cannot use your Barclaycard Arrival PlusTM World Elite MasterCard® to buy the IHG miles for free” you immediately reach for the bucket to barf another one. What is next? You go to the bathroom, you can not reach for the toilet paper so you grab your ipad to apply for the Barclay Arrival card. WTF to the nth degree! I feel so dirty right now, eeek!]
Maximizing Points and Miles on Apple iPhone 6 Purchases – The Credit Card Guy [When it comes to actual news you never see anything here until days/weeks pass. And then to catch on the Apple excitement BANG, they come out first!]
Boost Your Points or Cash Back Earnings When You Buy the New iPhone 6! – Million Mile Crap [The NEXT post in my Feedly was this one. Shaking my head. Are these guys good or what? Managed to insert 23 credit card links in this post, always amazes me. Made the Credit Card Guy look like an amateur lol.]
Starwood American Express US Open Cardmember Event – One More Credit Card One More Time [“This experience was in conjunction with the SPG Amex Stars program I’m participating in, courtesy of the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express. They covered the cost of my flights to New York and two-night stay at the Westin Times Square New York. That being said, all opinions expressed are my own” – Yeah, all opinions are your own, sure, whatever you say! And this gem: “Stay tuned, tomorrow I’ll have a review of the Westin Times Square.” Waiting breathlessly about this review I may have trouble sleeping tonight!]
The Qatar Airways A380 Doesn’t Belong to Them, and the Crazy Route it Took to the Gulf – View from the Wing [Does anyone really care about the Qatar Airways A380, really? Guess it breaks up the credit card posts from becoming so obvious!]
How Your Wireless Internet Can Get You Arrested at the Airport – View of the Pancakes [Another sensational headline, this site appears to have gotten a crash course on how to write them lately! “Armed gunmen stormed a Canadian plane” was another gem.]
Travel Loyalty Programs are All About Conflicts of Interest – View from the LibertarianWing [That post did not make any sense. I am waiting to read the “Miles/Points Experts selling credit cards are all about Conflicts of Interest”. Yeah, right.]
SWAG Saturday: OPEN Saturday + One more Swiss backpack & Amazon cash up for grabs. – Delta Points [Giving away crap and credit cards]
Reminder: Get a $30 Credit Towards Your 1st Ride With Uber! – Million Stuff to Sell [Is there anything that this site will NOT sell? Leave something for us little guys dude!]
How to Downgrade to the Citi Double Cash Card – Million Credit Cards [Ok, it is kind of ridiculous for me to do this yet again and again. I need me a template whenever I review a post from this blog! 9 comments ignored, guess too busy making/assigning more credit card posts because, well, they do pay well, don’t they?]
What to Do When Renting a Car & You Don’t Have Personal Car Insurance – Another Million Credit Cards [Of course you get links to the credit card that pay this business well and not the others that offer equal coverage. But who cares about that minute detail right? 4 commenters wasting their time asking questions…ain’t got time for dat! Oh wait….that’s the other expert! ]
American Airlines Still Allows Stopovers on Awards – Milevalue [Just clickbait to get some sucker to click on the US Airways credit card. Business as usual here!]
Reader Success Story: Married 20-Somethings Traveling in Style – Frugal Travel Guy [ Lost me at “We are so thankful for all the info from Frugal Travel Guy”…I guess some people will say anything for a $25 gift card!]
What’s the Best Way to Get Airport Lounge Access? – The Credit Card Guy [What a layup question? Are you serious? Oh yes you are…with a video, good for SEO or something like that!]
Reader guest post: Ever been upgrade & then downgraded by Delta? Lee Ann’s story! – Delta Points [OMG, the headline is STILL not fixed as of Sunday late night!!]
Are Award Booking Services Worth the Price? – The Credit Card Guy [Answer starts with “The Points Guy website actually started out as an award booking service, so before I ever wrote my first blog post, I was helping people book awards.” Yes it did, I remember that. So, let me continue from this point: ” But I sure caught on that I was busting my butt to make some money when I could be pumping credit cards 24/7 and make MULTIPLES of that! So I dropped the award booking service, just too labor intensive with very limited upside. Now I pump whatever the banks tell me to and I can afford staff to pump even more and write and pump for me while I play with my dog Miles (clever huh?). I was really sad I did not insert one credit card link in this post, I promise you it will not happen again!”)
Can You Transfer Points Earned on Any Citi ThankYou Card to Airline Partners? – Millions and Millions of NonSecrets and Credit Cards [And just when you thought the pumping will stop for a breather, it continues unabated. OMG, what a giant pumping machine we have here! 25 credit cards in just a short post. Holy mother of Bacon!]
Which Credit Cards Are Best for Building Credit? – The Credit Card Salesman [It never stops!]
Travel Tips to Save Money, Earn Miles, And Fly for Free – View from First Class [Cleverly click bait headline again designed to attract clicks only to be a link fest of the posts done in August. Blogger reveals there were 170 posts written in August. OMG! 170 posts, wow! Dude, take some time off! How do you do it with a regular job? If Gary can do it I sure can, you are an inspiration 🙂 170 posts, WOW!]
American Express Centurion Lounge Las Vegas – the Original is Still Very Good – View from High Class Wings [If I had a dollar for every post I read about this lounge and another dollar for every Amex Platinum Credit Card link I see I would be filthy rich and buy Boarding Area lol #dream or #nightmare]
I expect to be making fewer mentions of these blog posts as it is getting kind of tiring. Plus life gets in the way lately. Son mentioned he is going to try to get in to Stanford. After falling off my chair and almost choking…I think this may have extreme consequences to our family’s net worth! Arguments against Stanford or UofC Berkeley (what!!!!) are very welcome. If that happens I may pull a Milevalue…Ok, joking about that, COME ON!
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First for the first time in a while.
As a Stanford alum, you can’t go wrong with sending your kid there if he gets in.
@Helixcardinal:
George isn’t a Stanford alumnus. (As a non-Stanford alumnus, I know how to write a sentence with matching antecedent and referent.)
We receive the Stanford alumni magazine in our household. Those damn kids always look so happy and free in sunny High Branch; I loathe them. We also have knowledge of the world’s greatest public university, which is nearby. I have a friend who was an undergrad at Johns Hopkins. I remember your son previously expressed an interest in Hopkins. Feel free to drop a line.
The sticker price on Stanford may be high, but the school is richer than Croesus. They should have plenty of financial aid on offer. A school with a smaller endowment will charge a higher real price.
>>>>>>We also have knowledge of the world’s greatest public university
Which one?
He is flip flopping these days…We shall see. Has not mentioned Hopkins in a long time, I think it is no longer an option. I like University of Michigan…he can ride his bike to class lol.
So…is the Uni where you get your degree that important anymore? I’d make an exception for Ivy Leaguers in certain circles, but after you get that very first job it seems nobody really cares from whence you graduated. And the difference between 4-5 yrs at an esteemed Uni vs. a State U is a bunch! This crowd is (mostly) intelligently frugal, so…discussion?
Thank you so much for your comment. I am in a difficult spot. I have been trying to get THIS message across to him for a while. So, I read him your message and I think it helped 😉 I went to Eastern Michigan University and so did his mother and I think we both turned out all right 🙂 I don’t think the ridiculously much higher cost is WORTH it. Or maybe I am just too much of a deal hunter hehe. As you said, other than perhaps a bit better access to that entry level job…what happens afterwards is all up to them! ? At the same time I told him I want him to be happy, we really value education highly and want him to make the best decision without regrets. I can see a few light bulbs went off, did not know how to respond initially…so he reverted to the “Don’t you want me to go to Stanford or University of Michigan?” I said: “I don’t care really, I just want you to be smart about it and be happy with your choice”…Mrs TBB is the problem, she has been drilling the “best college” mantra for several years…and he wants to keep up with his friends for bragging rights too 🙂 #Developing
Here I go again, recommending that your son grows by spending a few years abroad. By random chance I happened to end up in the US the last time I moved abroad. It wasn’t my first choice, but if you’re an exchange student and get free education, you’ll settle with option #6. I went from a university ranked among the top 100 in the world to something lower in the US (think UoM type school, decent basketball and football teams etc). And sure enough, the education was poorer, but I got to experience something new! Looking back, I could have made better choices but I met my partner, had kids and the Economist just me realized that my kids could have grown up in one of the top countries to be born in (as opposed to #18). In short, don’t overthink things. Your son might cost you another fortune by getting an education in the US and end up like you or me (not sure that’s a good thing). Alternatively he could explore the world, end up with a foreign partner, learn a new language and successfully identify countries on a map. At a minimum, he’ll have a fascinating story to tell Rene (DP) in his next fireside chat.
ABC: I suggested the abroad option to him and told him not tell Mrs TBB it was my suggestion 🙂 Thanks a lot!
harvson3: So, at a minimum, we are going to have to pay out of state rates for AT LEAST the first two years? But starting third year we can qualify for in state rates?
It’s the one near Stanford. Look it up on a periodic table; there are two elements from its name up there, between Curium and Einsteinium.
Unfortunately, as an out-of-state student at a UC, he’s going to be paying full sticker price with little hope for any financial aid from the school. (I know twins who ended up at Harvard even though they were accepted to their first choice school, UCSD. They grew up in Wyoming, and it was cheaper to attend the former school.) The University of California has some great schools, but those schools wouldn’t be affordable until after his second year (when he could acquire California residency, which requires staying in-state for the summers).
Sign at the entrance of Buzzland http://bit.ly/1v2nNyg
I want to fly the LIM-PER route that is shown on your logo, just to fly over Antarctica.
3rd
Love how entertaining you make this stuff, George.
Holy mother of Bacon!
Fear the Tree, Helix ;~)
I actually got to LAS earlier than necessary on Sunday night just to visit this amazing Amex lounge – just to find that it was in the domestic terminal. And I was therefore condemned to 2 hours in ‘The Club at LAS’ ….
Next time you get in early you could check out… erm… Vegas?
I meant I got to LAS on the way out early … and I’d hit my limit by that point!
Fairplay, it can be overload.
I thought you were going to not Buzz so much. I love the random articles you unearth.
@Helixcardinal: Back where you belong! I may have some questions about Stanford, we shall see.
@Kenny: Great sign! As far as routes go, TBB is on the forefront of innovation as always. 🙂
@Simon: Congrats. Bronze. Not too shabby!
@FullMoon: I enjoy laughing at this stuff myself FIRST 🙂
@Raffles: Oh you poor thing. Blog post about it? 🙂
@Mel: I am trying really really hard to stop this insanity. So far it is not working out. It’s like an addiction habit I guess. I need to keep working at it 🙂
I’m Not Angry.
Hey, whatzup Elvis? You were in Ann Arbor a few weeks ago, sorry missed the concert 😉
HA HA HA I AM JUST KIDDING! THAT WAS NOT REALLY ELVIS COSTELLO, IT WAS ME: THE CHASE MARKETING MACHINE!
Buzz, as a Nassau Community College Alum you can’t go wrong with sending your kid there if he gets in, it’s cheap…………………….to Harvson I don’t know how to write a sentence with matching antecedent and referent, I have no idea what they are.
Buzz I could envision steam coming out of Marathon Man’s ears (just like an angry cartoon character) when he read Ariana’s M.O. post which was highlighted by Gleff. He must of been pissed!
Breaking Blogger News, Buzz please read this N Y Post story…. http://nypost.com/2014/09/22/the-living-hell-of-the-man-who-orgasms-100-times-a-day/
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am speechless…For a while I thought this was a joke…
Unbelievable!
I went to Berkeley and loved it. Of course, both Cal and Stanford are great schools so you can’t go wrong with either (though financially, perhaps you can). I will say that Cal is definitely less elitist and more egalitarian (feedback from both Stanford and Cal friends) and given your feelings about some of these chichi blogs, you may want to know that. That said, your son may never leave California after experiencing the tremendous weather so that may influence your decision to persuade (depending on whether you like him, it could go either way). Of course, you’ll have a happy place to travel to in the winter if he does stay.
This is great feedback, thank you! I like less elitism by birth 🙂
I assume this pretentious comment from Gary on Drew’s blog will make your gems:
“$0 manufactured spend doesn’t make travel free.
The manufactured spend itself has an opportunity cost (the time it takes, gas or public transit). Your opportunity cost in terms of the value of time may be low but it’s unlikely zero.
The rewards of that spend have an opportunity cost. If you take miles or points you are giving up the rewards you could have earned as cash. Your cost to earn miles is 2% of the dollars turned over, since you could have earned cash back instead.
The points you generate and then spend have an opportunity cost, because you could have spent those points on something else.
Travel of some kind may be possible without out of pocket cost (although that’s unlikely if you drove to do the activities that generated the points, or if you walked you’ll burn calories that have to be replaced through incremental food, so then you need to argue that food is free…).
But even if it is, that doesn’t make it free. 😉 “
Did not see him say anything on Mommy Points Nightline piece about FREE this and FREE that 🙂
U Michigan is a prestigious school in my profession. Of course those cali schools are also. But I love the Midwest. or is it just me ?
I love the Midwest and I still think he will stick around eventually. Or I sure hope so.
I went to grad school in the MidWest, and joined the faculty at UC. I loved my time in grad school, but given my interests (hiking, the outdoors), I think I would have had a blast had I actually gone to school in CA. I think the UC system has some great schools, which offer a friendly, non-elitist environment compared to some of the private schools like Stanford (am basing this on what I have heard from friends, much like the poster above). In response to the other poster who wanted to know whether your initial institution matters, I believe it does matter to the extent that you have the opportunity to engage with a more diverse, and well-rounded peer group at some of the better-ranked colleges, and usually opens up more career opportunities down the road.
Good luck to Buzz Jr!
Great feedback, thank you very much!
Stanford will be a stretch in all matters (getting accepted, paying for it, etc.). Everything developing, I appreciate the feedback.
Fyi, if your son goes to college in the southeast, there’s a good chance he won’t want to leave the region.
Wait, that is what they said above about California too! I think we all like where we live and hope our kids stick around 🙂
Glad to see the hypocrite of all hypocrites finally added credit card links. Not surprised AdChoice was the only group to take you.
Now it will be fun to watch the “shuck and jive” telling the “gang” how this is a good move for the hobby and how you are doing it right.
And here I thought you’d fold like a cheap suit on your second anniversary, but this will delay the inevitable I’m sure. You’ve got quite a stable of Amazon, RoboForm and AdChoice. You must be so proud 😉
Hey Rick,
Thank you for taking the time to comment in my blog. TBB “staff” appreciates all feedback, especially the whiny kind that entertains us the most.
“added credit card links” – LOL I wish those paid as much as the ones that are on top, bottom, left, right and inside the FTG “content”. I would love to see your reaction if one day I got the REAL credit card links. Spare me the “banks will never touch you” mantra…not sure I want to be touched 🙂
You thought I will fold like a cheap suit 19 months ago. Ooops, you were wrong. Again.
I am very proud of Amazon, sure has paid back all cash expenses on the site months ago! RoboForm is the greatest software ever invented. YOU should try it and it’s okay to go direct 😉
It’s a lifesaver. Not joking around. I manage close to 1,000 passwords, all kinds of security questions, different identities for all 4 of us to fill in all forms for miles/points accounts, enter (and win) sweepstakes only for a few seconds it takes me to enter with RoboForm. I can’t be online without it. God Bless my colleague who suggested it to me years ago!
What is AdChoice? Never heard of it. I installed something else to try it out. Kind of annoying but my readers are intelligent enough to understand. Got no time to deal with that stuff. What’s the rush anyway? Thanks for the inspiration!
And thank you for being a devoted reader. And for the support.
I suggest you come out of retirement soon as Frugal Titan Guy 🙂
If you could make your absurd anger that Randy didn’t invite you to speak as a titan of the industry a little less obvious it would be moderately appreciated
Considering how many non-BA bloggers went there and seemed to be basking in the bacon, it really makes you wonder why Rick continues to be jealous of Randy and Gary’s greater influence than him
Shows the stupidity of some of your readers George. How could anyone suggest that somebody retired could be a titan?. I’m a “has been”. You are a “never has been” and Steve, well he is just lost in his own little world concerned about my relationship with Randy and Gary. I have none. Does he have idol worship issues? Steve would qualify as a “never will be”
No disrespect meant of course. You know, it is just for entertainment and all. I review blogs. Back to my feedly, Need to work on my list of blogs I think “provide nothing to the hobby” Again, all for entertainment.
PS move your referral pimp links up higher on the right hand column. Put them above the “Follow TBB” section. They will convert better higher on the page. And based on how rapidly you are adding “pimp links”, it looks like you need more conversions
>>>>>>>>Shows the stupidity of some of your readers George
>>>>>>>>You are a “never has been”
>>>>>>>>Steve would qualify as a “never will be”
Letting it all go is very healthy. Hope you feel better.
>>>>>>>>No disrespect meant of course. You know, it is just for entertainment and all. I review blogs. Back to my feedly, Need to work on my list of blogs I think “provide nothing to the hobby” Again, all for entertainment.
Sure is! Thank you for your support! For updated reviews of blogs TBB staff like please check the lists in the tab labeled “Blog Reviews” above where nothing is blocked by credit card ads! Avoid, Like, Love. You are welcome!
>>>>>>>>PS move your referral pimp links up higher on the right hand column. Put them above the “Follow TBB” section. They will convert better higher on the page.
Thank you for the unsolicited marketing advice. If I move them higher they will mess my awesome logo where it shows you can fly from LIM to PER! Plus it will make it look like crap. So I leave the crap on the right hand side.
>>>>>>>>And based on how rapidly you are adding “pimp links”, it looks like you need more conversions
LOLOLOLOL. Yeah I should move a little faster, thank you! Thank God I don’t NEED more conversions. But if son goes to Stanford that may change lol. I will be adding more when I get around to it, thank you for your support!
Thank you for contributing to my site. We appreciate your dedication and loyalty to contribute to the blog’s mission!
Yawn…night night!
Shuck and Jive?! what an unbelievably racist comment…. seriously, wow