Another TBB post featuring the most eclectic links around the web such as the cheap ETFs, AI bubble or not, the flying Tesla Roadster, the Amex Platinum credit changes, haunted cemeteries, elderly care experts, best bridges, every lighthouse in the world, only the best photography and Thailand links and of course always all of the most important developments in the crazy world of frequent flyer miles and points at the lower half of the post. And much more. Enjoy the weekend.
Blog Mission: To Educate. Entertain. Inspire. In That Order!
Support TBB by applying for Credit Cards or Buy Me a Coffee or click on Links
No clickbait. No ads. No algorithms. No sponsors. No AI. No paywalls.
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 curated posts featuring the best web content along with my commentary.
BLOG HOUSEKEEPING
This is truly a one man labor of love operation, enjoy it while it lasts.
There will be changes to the blog starting in 2027 because the present format/structure is not sustainable.
On the personal front, I was planning to enter semi retirement in my main job (blogging is NOT it) starting in 2027 but the colleague planning to take over 3/4 of my firm had a sudden change of heart so therefore I am not retiring. Whoever said retiring is hard was right on. I elaborate more about how it will impact the blog going forward in the MY ACTION AND BLOG BUZZING section of the blog.
Serenity now…
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Be a free thinker and don’t accept everything you hear as truth. Be critical and evaluate what you believe in” – Aristotle
PERSONAL FINANCE
Must read: Your ‘Cheap’ ETF Costs More Than You Think. The costs of many popular funds have barely budged even though assets have soared. I have been in the wealth management industry for a long time. And I have been a huge fan of broad based Vanguard ETFs all along. When you can pay 0.03% for, say an S&P 500 ETF while you have an S&P 500 ETF from another company that costs substantially more than that for the same stocks…you are being taken advantage of. Unless that advisor makes it up on service…yeah, I doubt it. Be careful out there!
It’s that time and be careful if this applies to you: Shopping for Your 2027 Medicare Coverage Is Extra Important Now. Be sure to read your mail this fall — big changes to prescription drug plans and Medicare Advantage provider networks are coming, and could cost you more.
Another link that deals with aging. Something that we are all hopefully going to experience. Because the alternative being buried six feet under is much worse! These Professionals May Be the Best Kept Secret in Elder Care. They can arrange a move to a senior living facility, deal with Medicare and Medicaid, recommend doctors, drive a client to the dentist, and much more. They used to be called geriatric care managers by the way. And about ten years ago they rebranded and are now known as aging life care managers. Their association’s website is here: AgingLifeCare.Org. Which includes a directory as well.
AI/TECH
Interesting quotes: 100 leaders call their shot on work and AI in 2027. I predict most of them will be wrong.
I enjoyed this video. You take an AI fan boy and a guy betting against it and let them go at each others’ throats: Is There an AI Bubble? A Debate. I actually follow the AI guy on Substack and I like the other guy’s arguments better but his delivery is so arrogant.
This is great! SynthID Detector. Identify AI generated media.
SCAMS/CRYPTO
I am adding this one here in this section to mess with some of you Elon fan boys: The incredible flying Tesla Roadster is just for show. It’s OK to marvel at the stunt — it’s pure spectacle. If you are going to bitch here please read the article first. If you were one of the people who paid $50,000 for a deposit back in 2018…lol. Then again, you probably got tired of waiting and bought one of the few hideous Cybetrucks.
Since we are on the subject of Elon, this is a fun interactive site: Spend Elon Musk’s Money. You can always spend some on some obscure blogger blogging away for the love of the craft since 2012.
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
So, here we go again…
We are all still feeling the after effects of Spirit Airlines going under. Which happens a lot in the very volatile and unstable airline industry. But when this happens another airline usually absorbs the fallen one. But not this time. For the first time since Pan AM was shuttered, Spirit Airlines is being slowly and methodically cut to pieces. And it is a fascinating process I must admit. For the dirty details, please see: Where Does Spirit Goes When It Dies? Behind the scenes with the skeleton crew that’s figuring out how to unwind every last bit of the airline.
Losing Spirit has a direct correlation to this sadly: Airlines Are Charging More than Ever to Avoid Basic Economy.
What was previously a $60 or $70 upcharge to book a standard economy fare on domestic roundtrip flights just a few years ago is now regularly $100 or more on most major U.S. carriers, according to our recent review of domestic fares. Flying over to Europe, Asia, or beyond, you can safely expect to pay $240 or more to avoid basic fares …Add it all up, and more passengers are booking standard economy tickets … and with these increases, they’re paying more than ever for it. I’d bet that easily offsets whatever revenue airlines “gave up” from change fees.
My clients in Columbus, Ohio are super happy by this, about time! The Columbus Region Goes Nonstop to Europe With New Lufthansa Service to Frankfurt, Germany Beginning May 27.
The Cranky Flier again correctly blogs about what is happening with Southwest Airlines. We are talking about a complete unparalleled transformation. But, come on, why did they have to take the fun culture out of this too? Southwest’s Use of Language Eliminates the Fun.
Gone are A-List and A-List Preferred as status levels. Those were more playful, like you’re a star on the Southwest red carpet. But now? You’ll never guess what they’re going with.
Silver. Gold. Platinum. [LOL]
Today, it seems that Southwest wants to use language as a way to bolster the belief that it is no longer the fun airline it used to be. The words suggest the opposite, that Southwest is trying to be more like everyone else. Customers might see it, but Southwest can be sure employees will. And while many may not luv it, they will end up taking it to heart. That’s something that just didn’t need to happen.
Many years ago we could burn Hilton Honors points in the Scandic hotels in Scandinavia. And it was a great value. Then the partnership ended. And out of the blue it appears to be back again? Kind of? It is confusing what will be the final result of this revived partnership: Hilton & Scandic Sign Strategic Agreement: Loyalty Partnership Coming + Scandic Begins Developing Hilton Brands in the Nordics.
I thought Bilt had this one already, zzzzz: Bilt Adds JetBlue as 1:1 Transfer Partner. Warning: JetBlue stock is now under $3 per share, having lost 50% of its value in the last 6 months. Sure acts like a dead man walking to be executed. Or it could be a deep value gem IF it can recover.
Good reference, how IHG, Hilton and Marriott do this: Fourth and Fifth Night Free Hotels: How To Book With Points.
United, despite having a CEO who just can’t shut the phuck up, is continuing to do pretty good things operationally speaking. Not only in the air but on the ground as well: United Opens New Concourse at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. This place now has the largest United lounge, at 54,000 square feet, wow.
I will be shocked if this turns out to be a good deal. I predict it will be the equivalent of burning your points for a toaster. And around here in TBB land we have a saying, don’t ever use your points for a toaster lol. Hilton Becomes First Major Hotel Brand to Offer Digital Solution to Pay with Points. Actually, first really? We could be paying with points checking out of Accor hotels for a while now.
Really good update on what business class awards we can book these days: 12 Biz Class Seats You Can Book With Points.
TRAVEL REWARDS CREDIT CARDS
For ANY questions on travel rewards credit cards, contact me anytime at travelbloggerbuzz@gmail.com
I don’t usually post anything involving rumors. Unless it comes from a very reliable source. As noted here last week, that Amex rumor nerfing the FHR hotel credit did become true this week. It does suck that there is now a 2 night minimum for FHR stays too, no doubt about that. But, you must admit that you are likely not that shocked as this was way too beneficial for us (and costly for Amex). Bottom line for us having the Schwab Amex Platinum card is that we make up the $895 annual fee just by adding up the Schwab, Resy Dining and Lululemon credits alone #winning. So this blew up online and everyone posted about it. And the absolute BEST post was from old friend Omar at Travel Summary. Who took many years off and this space is glad to have him back as I always really enjoyed his superb writing. So, if you are going to read one article about this topic, make it this one:
Amex Platinum’s Hotel Credit Now Needs Two Nights, and the Card Lost Its Edge
I had never heard of this company, is it hurting for PR or something? I guess if you are in these six big US cities with its offices you can try it? Definitely not a benefit that makes you go “I gotta have me the American Express Business Platinum Card now”: New American Express Business Platinum Benefit: Free Membership To ZO Clubhouse & Studio (Lounge/Coworking).
You apply for an Amex card and, well, if you are not approved you can check here what the reason was: Application Status.
NEW OFFERS:
100k Bank of America Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards Summit Visa Infinite Card after spending $6k in the first 3 months
Comes with a 25,000 point Global Companion Award. Annual Fee is $350. Earns 3x on Alaska/Hawaiian purchases, dining and foreign transaction purchases. 8 Alaska Airlines lounge passes and 8 WiFi passes every year. Free checked bag for cardholder and up to 6 people on same reservation. Waives award booking fees. 1 status point per $2 spent. 10,000 points annually. Exclusive signature cocktail or elevated drink in the lounge for cardholders who like to be elevated and exclusive lol. You can earn a 100,000 point Global Companion Award after $60k of spend. TBB Wisdom: For repeated appliers who have bandwidth, what are you waiting for? For normal people, this is a great card if you spend considerable time abroad, 3x on everything wow. No credits per the traditional couponing sense. But you take the 25k companion award and the 10,000 points awarded annually and you can in a way recover most of the annual fee. Add the checked bag savings and overeating/overdrinking in the lounges and boom! The free wifi so you can read my blog in the air is an additional bonus. More HERE.
80,000 Bank of America Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards Ascent after spending $5k in the first 3 months
Annual fee is $95. Free checked bag for cardholder and up to 6 people in same reservation. Earns 3x on Alaska Airlines purchases, 2x on gas, cable, streaming services and local transit. And some other minor benefits, more HERE.
75,000 Bank of America Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards Business after spending $4k in the first 3 months
Comes with $99 Companion Fare. Annual fee is $95. Same free checked bag for cardholder and up to 6 people in same reservation. Earns 3X on Alaska Airlines, 2x on gas, EV charging, shipping and local transit.
For the record the first two cards above have affiliate links but the business card is not an affiliate offer. There is a dedicated place on the website for the affiliate card offers. I am always available via email if you have any questions.
CAPITAL ONE Venture X Business Card: Up to 300,000 bonus miles and a $1,000 Capital One Business Travel Credit. Spend $40,000 in the first four months and earn 150,000 miles. Spend $120,000 in the first four months and earn an additional 150,000 bonus miles as well as a $1,000 Capital One Business Travel credit to use toward purchases made through Capital One Business Travel.
TBB Wisdom: Obviously, you can haul in a massive amount of miles with this one. Unfortunately, it comes with a massive spending requirement as well. Probably suited to business owners and dedicated manufactured spenders. We all have the personal CAPITAL ONE Venture X card in my household and love it by the way.
50k AMEX Blue Business Plus after $5k spend in the first three months. This is a a no annual fee Amex card earning 2 Membership Rewards points per dollar on everything on up to $50k purchases per year.
50k AMEX Blue Business Cash after $5k spend in the first three months. This is a a no annual fee Amex card earning 2% Cash Back per dollar on everything on up to $50k purchases per year.
LATEST OFFERS:
IHG One Rewards Premier Select: Earn 210,000 points after spending $5k in the first 3 months (ENDING 11/18/26)
IHG One Rewards Business: Earn 190,000 points after spending $5k in the first 3 months (ENDING 11/18/26)
IHG One Rewards: Earn 125,000 points after spending $2k in the first 3 months (ENDING 11/18/26)
United Club℠: Earn up to 100,000 United MileagePlus bonus miles after spending $5k in the first 3 months
United Quest℠: Earn up to 90,000 United MileagePlus bonus miles after spending $4k in the first 3 months
United℠ Explorer: Earn up to 80,000 United MileagePlus bonus miles after spending $3k in the first 3 months
United℠ Gateway: Earn up to 50,000 United MileagePlus bonus miles after spending $1k in the first 3 months
CAPITAL ONE Venture Rewards: 75,000 Points PLUS $300 Travel Credit
The $300 Travel Credit is for hotel stays and vacations. Plus 75,000 points worth at a MINIMUM $750, so we are up to $1,050 at least. For an annual fee of $95 for a minimum spend of $4,000 in three months. I mean, come on, do the math! Wait, there is more:
- Card earns 2x points everywhere (the equivalent of 2% everywhere)
- Card earns 5x points on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- No foreign transaction fees
- Visa Signature benefits
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
115K CHASE AirCanada Aeroplan
Note that you get 75k miles after $4k minimum spend in the first three months. And then additional 40k miles after a total of $20k spend in the first six months. Annual fee goes from $95 to $195. Learn more about the new offer here.
AMERICAN EXPRESS Hilton Increased Credit Card Signup Bonuses (Up To 200,000 Points) AND Free Night Cert
American Express throws some higher signup bonus features for Amex Delta cards.
- Personal offers:
- ($0 intro fee, then $150) Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card: as high as 80K bonus miles + $250 statement credit after $3K spend over six months. (YMMV)
- ($350 fee) Platinum Delta SkyMiles Credit Card: as high as 90K bonus miles + $300 statement credit after $4K of spend.
- ($650 fee) Delta Reserve SkyMiles Credit Card: two round-trip Delta Comfort Flights + 50K Bonus miles after $10K of spend. Flight certificates good for Lower 48, Puerto Rico or U.S. Virgin Islands, 21+ day advance purchase required.
- Business offers:
- ($0 intro fee, then $150) Gold Delta SkyMiles Business Credit Card 90,000 miles after $6,000 in spend within the first six months
- ($350 fee)Platinum Delta SkyMiles Business Credit Card 100,000 miles after $8,000 in spend within the first six months
- ($650 fee) Delta Reserve Credit Card for Business 200,000 miles after $20,000 in spend within the first six months
CHASE Sapphire Reserve for Business: 200,000 Points Sign Up Bonus
100,000 CHASE Sapphire Reserve: $795 Annual Fee. Minimum spend $6,000 in three months
As High As 200,000 Points on the AMEX Business Gold after spending $15k in the first three months
80,000 CITI AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard
175,000 AMEX Platinum & 300k AMEX Business Platinum
75,000 CITI Strata Elite card
Due to credit card vendor restrictions, the only affiliate links I can place in the body of my posts are for Capital One cards. You can always email me at travelbloggerbuzz@gmail.com with ANY questions.
Please help the small independent blogs like mine continue to exist by supporting us with your CREDIT CARD clicks, thank you!
BONUS OFFERS NOTIFICATIONS
Would you like to be automatically notified every time a card comes out with (or is about to remove) an elevated welcome offer? If yes, I highly encourage you to sign up if you haven’t yet. And when you apply for a credit card from a link in these emails you help support the blog.
Elevated Card Offer Notifications
All you have to do to receive these free notifications is:
1. Click on the link above
2. Create an account
3. Subscribe
MY ACTION AND BLOG BUZZING
So, I have a lot of notes to cover here…
The minimum spend on my new IHG One Rewards Premier Select card is done and 210,000 IHG points are already in my account (200,000 Signup Bonus plus 10,000 for an Authorized User card I requested recently for my daughter and it has not even arrived yet). The 200,000 Signup Bonus points posted when I hit the minimum spend and the 10,000 points for the AU card posted when I requested it online. I am waiting now for the points based on the spend as the statement just closed yesterday and should have nearly 230,000 points shortly. I have been doing this for so long and it still never fails how awesome it feels when these points hit my account. I had driven my own IHG One Rewards account down to 0 points recently. Coming back I must admit that the website looks really nice, everything is laid out very intuitively. In addition, I booked a RT Delta flight for the Christmas holidays again and the $200 credit appeared the very next day. Strangely, no annual fee hit my Chase account yet.
I am going to hit the minimum spend on my new Schwab Amex Platinum card sometime this weekend so I expect another 80,000 Amex Membership Rewards points to be added to my bank vault when the statement closes on November 4. With the spend I expect a bit north of 92,000 points #winning. I only had the card a few weeks and I have already booked about $290 in credits with many more on the way.
My wife has left Malaysia and flew on Air Asia X to Taipei, Taiwan. She is now there and spent her birthday with our daughter who traveled there after her visits to Hanoi, Vietnam and Hong Kong. I gifted my daughter an expiring Hyatt Free Night Cert and I booked her at the funky Episode Daan Taipei hotel. I couldn’t get her to stay at the Grand Hyatt, not available on the night she landed in Taipei. But now they are all kind of stuck there due to the mother of all typhoons that is passing through. I told them to prepare for flight interruptions and they should be checking their emails/texts. I have a feeling I will be doing lots of travel agent type activities for them over the weekend. Of course let’s all pray that they are safe. Typhoon Champi looks really bad.
While my wife was back home in Malaysia, she did some domestic tourism and I am very slowly posting some pics in Instagram, more to come…
She has booked a flight on Delta flying Korean to Honolulu at the end of the month. After she goes on a Taiwan tour with her friend and former Ford coworker who is originally from Taiwan. Well, I am not so sure those plans will survive the typhoon interruption. Due to my own recent professional developments I may take a week and join her and our son in Honolulu, he now has a spare bedroom for us to stay. We’ll see if this happens. But I did book her to fly back to Detroit on Southwest and finally used about $160 of Southwest credit we have been carrying forward for years. At this point she is becoming the true travel expert and valuable TBB team member lol.
I had the second dose of my Shingles vaccine. And wow was it strong! It knocked me out for a whole day. But all was good after that.
I do watch a lot of YouTube videos, mostly to keep up for material for this blog. And I am starting to get it. The ones who want to make it are slaves to the algorithm. There are some YouTubers who are known for one thing and then they just keep posting the same shit over and over and over. They can not change the topic because that throws off the algorithm. So, you know, they become slaves to it. I don’t give a shit about algorithms, it is really liberating actually. Also, it helps when you realize that with the new YouTube monetization requirements my own You Tube channel will likely never get monetized. Oh, I gained three new subscribers bringing my subscribers tally to 115, only 885 to go to hit just one of the 2 requirements for monetization LOL. It sucks but it is what it is. Same with this blog. I do my own thing. I have been doing my own thing since birth I think.
Another thing I notice on You Tube is how trendy it has become to make a stupid face on the video thumbnails. I mean, you see so many just out competing each other to look progressively stupider. I was going to do a collage of some fine examples. But I ain’t got time for dat. I am already spending way too much in this blog.
I watched both documentaries on Elon Musk and Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos fraud. Well, just to warn you the Musk documentary is 4 hours long! And I don’t think I learned anything new about this horrible person. On the other hand, the other documentary was intriguingly and fascinatingly weird. I had no idea about Elizabeth’s husband who outshines her in weirdness, wow. Not for everybody, I can see people hating it after watching it. But I really enjoyed it, I see an Oscar here. And it does have a few hilarious scenes. But it is mostly disturbing how disturbed this couple is. And omg the lying smh.
I don’t need the money from this blog. But the shocking facts of what has happened in the last few years are below. This is on top of the severe Chase banking restrictions on credit cards, more restrictions on credit cards from the other banks continue, the loss of affiliate Amex links (they are supposed to be back…any…day…now) and of course the “compliance” conditions to have affiliate credit card links on the body of the blog posts that are so severe I chose not to bother (at this point, I can only have direct affiliate credit cards links from Capital One in the body of my posts). So, basically this is why the last two months this blog has sold 2 credit cards only and one of them was mine, it just boggles the mind LOL.
Revenue from 2024 to 2025 went down 22%
Revenue from 2025 to 2026 is projected to be down another 59%!
I just need to align what this blog brings in to the amount of time and stress it adds to my life bringing it all to you. Having said that, yes I do enjoy it and if I didn’t I would not keep this up for almost 14 years straight. But it is now costing me money and it will show a big loss for 2026. And, you know, this hurts my ego. Actually, do you know what hurts my ego more? Seeing all these open positions at The Points Guy Inc with each one paying over $100k per year plus benefits and here it’s me bringing (I think) better content (minus all the credit card pimping of course) and hitting that number is a fantasy 14 whole years into it, WTF! Ok, I feel better now. I elaborated more on this replying to a reader who was afraid I may paywall everything behind a Substack account. I will quit before that happens, we all like freeee 🙂
I am going to shut up now, thank you for allowing me to vent in my own blog. Who needs a therapist when I can do it here for freeeee woohoo.
BLOG REVENUE REPORT:
September Credit Card Sales: 1
September Buy Me A Coffee Sales: 2
October Credit Card Sales: 1 (mine, lol)
October Buy Me A Coffee Sales: 65
2026 SE ASIA TRIP RECAP
New additions in bold font below. I am starting to add YouTube video links, I have lots more coming.
So to recap:
110,000 American Airlines miles for one way First Class from Detroit to Bangkok (via Dallas and Tokyo Haneda) flying AA and JAL Business Class
AA Flagship Lounge in DFW You Tube Video
Sakura Lounge at Tokyo Haneda Airport HND
Sakura Lounge at Tokyo Haneda Airport You Tube Video
AMEX Centurion Lounge at Tokyo Haneda Airport HND
AMEX Centurion Lounge at Tokyo Haneda Airport HND Video
JAL Business Class flight from Tokyo Haneda HND to Bangkok BKK
For a trip report on the flights getting me to Bangkok please see the first comment in this post.
OR
118,500 Air Canada Aeroplan miles for one way Business Class from Detroit to Frankfurt to Munich on Lufthansa and to Bangkok on Thai Airways [Canceled, went with AA above]
1 night at the StandardX Bangkok for 7,500 World of Hyatt points
StandardX Bangkok YouTube Video
10 nights at the Bangkok Hyatt Place Soi 1 for 45,000 World of Hyatt points
Bangkok Hyatt Place Soi 1 Review
Bangkok Hyatt Place Soi 1 Room YouTube Short
Strolling Chinatown YouTube Short
Padthai in Bangkok’s Chinatown Food Tour YouTube Short
9 nights at the Bangkok Hyatt Place Soi 24 for 40,500 World of Hyatt points
Bangkok Hyatt Place Soi 24 Review
At TRIBE Sky Beach Bar in Bangkok
Final post from Bangkok until the return from Saigon
4 nights in a suite at the Saigon Park Hyatt for 80,000 World of Hyatt points
Saigon Food Tour on Motorbikes
Roaming the Streets of Saigon, Part I
Roaming the Streets of Saigon, Part II
Roaming the Streets of Saigon Part III
Park Hyatt Saigon: Lam Son Suite, Front, Lobby, Main Floor
Flying Vietnam Airlines and Saigon Airport
2 nights at the KROMO Bangkok, a Curio Collection by Hilton property, on AMEX The Hotel Collection booking fully utilizing Amex Business Platinum $300 credit
1 night at the brand new Fairmont Bangkok in a suite using my lifetime Platinum annual complimentary night cert
1 night at the Hilton Pattaya for 60,000 Hilton Honors points
Viral IG Reel from Hilton Pattaya Rooftop Bar
Hilton Pattaya Rooftop Bar Short Video on YouTube
2 nights at the Andaz Pattaya Jomtien Beach for 30,000 World of Hyatt points in a confirmed Garden View Suite
Andaz Pattaya Jomtien Beach Part I: The Grounds
Andaz Pattaya Jomtien Beach Part II: Garden View Suite & Fitness Center
Andaz Pattaya Jomtien Beach Part III: Breakfast
Andaz Pattaya Jomtien Beach Part IV: Swimming Pools, Beach & Eating/Drinking
Roaming the Streets of Singapore, Part I
Roaming the Streets of Singapore, Part II
1 night at the Singapore Conrad Marina Bay on an Amex FHR booking mostly covered by the $300 Schwab Amex Platinum $300 credit
Singapore Conrad Marina Bay Part I: King View Room, Lobby & Main Floor, Swimming Pool
Singapore Conrad Marina Bay Part II: Breakfast
Singapore Conrad Marina Bay Breakfast Video
Singapore Wedding at St. Regis Singapore
Singapore Changi Airport Video: Waves
Singapore Changi Airport: Jewel Waterfall
90,000 United miles for one way Business Class Singapore to Chicago O’Hare (via San Fransisco) flying United
Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge in Changi Airport
United Polaris Singapore SIN to San Francisco SFO
The Club Priority Pass airport lounge in San Francisco SFO
Follow TBB on Instagram and Subscribe on YouTube
Check out my page listing my affiliate links HERE
Or go to Rakuten and Top Cash Back and Rove Miles and Gondola
HOT CREDIT CARD OFFERS:
75k CHASE Sapphire Preferred,75k CHASE Ink Cash, 75k CHASE Ink Unlimited, 200k CHASE Sapphire Reserve Business, 100k CHASE Sapphire Reserve, 80k CITI AAdvantage Platinum Select, 75k CITI Strata Elite, 100k CAPITAL ONE Venture Rewards (AND $300 CREDIT), 100k CHASE Ink Business Preferred, 175k AMEX Platinum, 75k CAPITAL ONE Venture X, 115K CHASE AirCanada Aeroplan, 300k AMEX Business Platinum, 200k AMEX Business Gold, 50k CHASE United Gateway, 100k AMEX Gold, 50k AMEX Blue Business Plus and many more!
As of today, I have burned 817,815 miles/points year to date (after burning 1,893,248 miles/points in 2025 and 2,027,816 in 2024) and have 4,700,054 miles/points in the bank.
Reddit’s Which Credit Card Should I Get?
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, all feedback is very appreciated.
You can also support the blog to help cover the costs of running it and keeping it free by donating via Paypal:
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 morning!
Thanks for the weekend reading! Sorry your retirement plans got crunched!
You are very welcome as always. On the retirement front, it’s all good. Things happen for a reason they say. I love what I do and I love my clients. And they love me but maybe one or two not as much as they did before I wasted their time with this.
Wow, thanks for so much good stuff to carry me through the weekend like always! Sorry the retirement plans got changed but who knows, maybe a better guy will come along to take over. Sounds like the travel for the family is going good too! Thanks for all this, I know it is work and I do not know how you do it but am sure glad you do!
Me, it is the cardiologist again today and later on a CT scan and then some surgical stuff in February unless they can move it up (unlikely). I suspect no travel until after that. Ugh. I am hoping to be in Italy for my 70th birthday next year though, that is the goal.
Have a good weekend and my best to you and your family!
Gracias senor, see my response to Vicky below talking about retirement stuff. All the best with the cardiologist, yeah, prioritize health over travel. But maybe sometimes they do go together you know, to keep our sanity intact lol.
George – sorry to hear about your retirement plans. I’m actually trying to figure out my own (far too early) retirement right now also, which is why I’m able to blog again! Whenever I log in, I creep on your updates on facebook lol.
Thanks for the link. Already up to 5 views from it lol. I’ve been working on A LOT of awesome updates to the blog for a while, which are almost done. I’ll be sharing everything in a post soon!
I post on FB once every quarter or so, ain’t got time for dat there. Better to follow me on IG. Oh, I nuked my Twitter account (actually both of them) when Elon came into the picture and phucked it all up. Nice to hear abt yr own retirement plans, you must have done well away from this quirky space. I am still at it, same as old. Doing all I can to against the wind of pimping myself lol. You have stayed in my Feedly all along and I was shocked when I started to see some updates come through and I thought initially it may all have been a tech glitz.
Looking forward to your updates. Feel free to email me anytime:
travelbloggerbuzz@gmail.com
Thanks for the elder care article, very timely! I am once again dealing with a parental health crisis which is very much not helped by my parents’ unwillingness to plan for the inevitable. (Dear 80 year olds: you really don’t need a massive two-story house for just the two of you. Please downsize!)
Good on you for getting the shingles vaccine. My manager got shingles a while back and it was pretty bad, he could have gone blind in one eye if his daughter, who works in the medical field, hadn’t happened to be visiting and brought him to the ER. I think the vaccine protects against dementia too.
There really are a whole bunch of TPG jobs, my goodness.
One of my clients has been dealing with an unreal and ongoing parental crisis ever since they retired. I feel for you man, this can get tough all around. Hope it gets better!
TPG jobs: Is it because they all get fired? Or is business still actually that good? Or both.
Yeah, glad I got the shingles vaccine out of the way. I had hesitated for so long.
I’m sorry to hear your retirement plans have be derailed. Must be disappointing for both you aren your wife.
We paid to take the Shingles shot at 60 which means it was not covered by Medicare in Oz. Felt it was worth every cent vs actually getting Shingles and even more rewarding with research linking it to a decreased risk of dementia.
So now we are at the pointy end of the collection year, what is your take on renewing Hyatt status going forward? For us, as long as our travels are to Asia or Europe we see value but if our travel was solely in the US probably would not bother. Due to health issues our year has been a year of cancelled plans I am giving it a rest from planning anything until the new year when health issues may be less cloudy.
It is only disappointing that it happened at this point in the process. As a client said, well, it is better than if this had happened months into after he took over. So, there is a silver lining on everything I guess. I am more relieved and my clients have exhaled. But this whole ordeal was totally preventable and somewhere all along I should have judged better. Back to original retirement plan, work less as my clients die off. Hopefully I beat them all to it lol. In the meantime, I have laid my conditions on who I would like to leave my clients to if I am not around and…waiting for that ideal firm to arrive. And I am not holding my breath for any firm to appear. And it is perfectly fine. I have managed to operate with a laptop and a wifi connection and I intend to still travel more. And, basically, still do what I do. The only difference would be that this blog will take a back seat. Which should have happened years ago. Not going to shut it down but you will see a difference.
At this point I am not sure what the elite status travel plans are for 2027. With another trip to Bangkok again and likely staying at one of the Hyatt Place properties for at least a month, there is a path to Globalist. Maybe that premium Hyatt card finally appears in 2027 which will make it a slam dunk. But I am conflicted with Chase points now becoming harder to get and the 4:3 ratio is insulting. With retirement plans having been revised I can afford to pay out of pocket easy so I may just pay and enjoy my Globalist status and not overthink it anymore (as in trying to get another 31 nights in SE Asia all booked with points/FNCs. I am going to have some IHG nights as well in 2027 too. Bottom line is we got to make health a priority and will definitely lean towards that in travel as well.
All day long today I get this message below trying to login to my site…there is a phucking AI comment that came through and I need to trash it and I can’t. Don’t click on links shown here, give me some time to make sure they are legit.
WordPress Login Temporarily Disabled
We apologize for the inconvenience! You are seeing this message because your site has recently been targeted by attackers attempting to gain access to your WordPress Dashboard. In order to protect your site your WordPress Login page has been temporarily disabled.
Unfortunately, you will be unable to login to the Dashboard until the block expires.
They’re calling it “Black October” for cybersecurity… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_October_(information_security)
So much to unpack…
Major condolences about the retirement setback. It annoys the crap out of me on your behalf that the jerkwad suddenly decided that promises made were not meant to be honored.
The aging advocates info was good to know.
I would have cheerfully used your link for a BOA Alaska biz card if they permitted it.
It’s stunning that you waited until now (we’re the same age) to get a shingles set of vaccines. When I reacted to my first shot my wife swore to get hers as soon as humanly possible since if the vaccine was that bad she could only imagine how it would be with the actual illness. Glad you didn’t get Shingles.
Sad to say but I’d almost forgotten about Omar.
Any chance on a link to a link to a C1 Savor card?
Keep up the good work and thanks for whatever time is left for we few but faithful.
Emailed you with the link. For everyone else, email me 🙂
I waited to get the Shingles vaccine because I was scared as my wife too had a really bad time with it. And then I kept reading that it is not that effective. I finally did it. The 2nd shot was rough but the symptoms only lasted for a day, much less than what my wife went through, she was down for like three days. I think what did it was a friend got Shingles earlier this year and she had a horrible time with it…and yep, she was not vaccinated.
Yeah, all check out Omar at Travel Summary, looking really good.
I am still trying to process wtf happened with my colleague. It has been a week since THE phone call. And I am trying to repair the damage that was done with my clients, hopefully it was early enough in the process. But oh boy does that make me look bad. My judgment was way off. Still can’t believe it actually. Made me reconsider so many things though, hugely educational and costly as well. Everything happens for a reason they say. And maybe I was not meant to retire, having client relationships for so long are cherished and gives me a hell of a reason to keep going. Right now, I am recovering 🙂 And committed to the previous plan of working less as my clients die off. Hopefully they beat me to it lol. And I will look for another successor that checks off all boxes to find me, done spending time to find them. And if one can be found they must have done this before and this time I am asking for a big earnest deposit up front.
The blog will survive but the format will be must shorter and way less commentary. I just need to spend less time here and refocus it on more important matters, like wife and clients. And travel for the joy of it instead of trying to TBBify it you know. It’s all good, blessed to be here making an impact to all five of you lol.
And go Detroit Lions and Pistons. I am staying silent about Michigan woohoo.
The Amex cc affiliate links are supposed to come back sometime today Monday or Tuesday, FYI.
Tardy,
Good morning Buzz,
Thanks for another great post. Sorry your retirement plan didn’t work out like you were expecting.
Hopefully it’s a blessing, an opening to a better situation in the long run. I too am in the same boat as you and some of the fellow TBB’ers as far as retirement plans.
Great story The Family plan.
Have a great week Buzz
Thank you. Yeah, it is probably a blessing. They say the most expensive lessons are the best. Learned a lot on how to do it better next time.
Is archive.is imploding or is it maybe my connection?
https://archive.is/
Uh oh: https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/never-ending-cruise-hits-dead-end-passengers-stranded-cambodia-fuel-bill-sinks-voyage