We bring you Citi Prestige warnings, the best hotel hammocks, warn you about travel scams, visit Oslo, deliver TPG beatings, robots, bike paths, Georgia on my mind and much more. For you. For free. Sad for me 🙂
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Some things to keep in mind about the the Citi Prestige 75k offer. Be careful out there! Please support small blogs to keep them going!
- TPG is the only affiliate with access to these 75,000 point offers currently. This means that even with the stripped down link it’s entirely possible that site is still earning commission when you sign up for that offer (e.g Citi just looks at all applications with the 75,000 point offer attached).
- Other affiliates will gain access to this link on August 1st. Most sites these days have either direct or indirect affiliate links (e.g the ones that link you to a general credit card page and then you go from there to find the card you’re looking for). If you want to support one of those sites, you might be better off waiting until August 1st and then using their links instead.
- There is also a 50,000 point offer on the Citi ThankYou Premier. Remember you won’t be able to get both bonuses because of the Citi 24 month rule, so work out what offer is better for you. In fact a lot of people won’t be eligible for either bonus.
Exploring Oslo trip report.
The headline sure gets your attention: Dear United: Autonomous cars will pull you out of your seat. Hmm, okay I guess. Interesting stuff in this article. The author makes a convincing case that short trips by airplane will vanish and will be replaced with a cushy seat in an autonomous vehicle driving you to your destination while you are slaving away over your laptop or maybe kick back watching a movie. It will come down to experience and do you really believe airlines, in their current state, can compete? Come on! This should be a warning bell for the airlines, are you listening United?
I had no idea about this! The biggest infrastructure project in the US is a 3,000 mile bike path. Ok, it is not going to be finished anytime soon…but still love it. I would love to do something big like this at some point…
The robots are coming, the robots are coming. Soon at Citibank!
This video will make you want to visit Georgia. The country. Is Georgia on your mind?
I don’t do posts about farting passengers to trick you to click on my posts so I can drive up advertising revenue. Actually, page views bring no revenue to my blog whatsoever. So, where am I going with this you start to wonder. Because the next link I bring you, well, the title is: When athletes gotta go…where do they go? Wow, I had no idea, may be dealing with a crappy (pun intended) subject but I found it educational and TBB worthy 🙂
10 heavenly hotel hammocks. I always associated hammock with just pure relaxation, we are talking major WTF attitude. One day when I piss off a Titan blogger so much and they buy me out I am going to hang in a hammock for a week, so there!
11 European roads to drive. These may have appeared here before but I think I see a few new ones in the list.
Most common travel scams. Don’t be a sucker! Then again, if you read my blog, there is very high probability that you are not!#winning. Just show this to newbie travelers so they know too.
BLOG BUZZ
This section is for advanced level hobbyists and veteran blog readers & personal rants & stuff
Too many blogs, too much crap, I am buried in the same old crap, rinse and repeat.
Support clicks vanished again, I see BestOffersPatrol popping up again. Please #hint.
For those of you who have the Club Carlson credit card and do the annual $10k spending for the free night, here is how to redeem it.
Internet Brands, owner of Flyertalk, is buying WebMD. For $2.8 billion. That’s a lot of dough!
Some brutal feedback on The Points Guy Inc. And you call ME angry? 🙂 Just a few selected ones for your viewing pleasure:
Why I hate TPG: “The Ritz card is the heaviest, and definitely gets noticed! You should get it!” “The new metal prestige card is lighter than the others, which I definitely appreciate because my wallet is too heavy!” He can make a mountain out of a mole hill with horrible sales pitches.
The weird thing about TPG being a Chase Shill is, he was literally the LAST travel/rewards card blogger that wrote a post about it, reddit was talking about rumors/evidence it was coming, doc was talking about rumors about it, MillionMileSecrets was saying there were rumors about it, OneMileAtATime was talking about rumors, heck even smaller travel blogs were talking about rumors, the only person NOT talking about it is TPG. Even when the application link leaked, he didn’t talk about it until the official launch.
and just a few more from that first Doctor of Credit post at the top:
Please do not support TPG under any circumstances. TPG profits by lying to people (eg by omission) and pushing inferior deals. He does not disclose “this 40K offer which I have pushed on you is once per lifetime and will disqualify you from an identical 100K offer.”
If you think TPG has value please go see a mental health professional.
And I leave you with this…
Check out my updated blog lists: Blogs I Love, Blogs I Like, Blogs To Ignore
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.
The miles and points space looks like anger will be coming. I do have a Citi card to cancel.
No Citi cards in my household. Which is a First! 🙂
You didn’t get in on the AA 50k offer without the 24 month language?
Nope….like I needed more AADisadvantage miles
#itwasa524thingie
eh, 60k is good for business class JAL, hopefully
Thanks for the link. It’s only moments now before the marketers start offering me the big bucks to deceptively sell consumer credit under the guise of information!
Watch out for them offers to partner coming in your email inbox any day now 🙂
I always shake my head wondering who falls for some of those travel scams. But obviously people do or they wouldn’t keep doing it. I’m not saying I could never be fooled and some of the scammers can be quite skilled, but a lot just seem so obvious. There is a series on Youtube called Scam City (think it was originally on TV somewhere) where they go behind the scenes with tourism scammers – really fascinating, including how the locals in some places view the scammers.
Speaking of scammers…Glad that plenty of others see what a tool TPG is. Those comments are pretty entertaining. I wouldn’t sign up through a TPG affiliate link if the card gave 100,000 miles for no minimum spend.
Oslo looks pretty cool – one area we haven’t made it to yet is the Nordic countries but intend to do so eventually.
WebMD, huh? That site needs to shut down, every time I have a minor pain I go there and end up deciding I’m dying! LOL!
That WebMD dig was really funny!
Oslo, so ridiculous expensive though!
One personal finance I like had a writer do a post about miles and the writer kept recommending only TPG. I tore them a body part. They were shocked, which goes to show you the brand job this guy has done, sad!
It’s easier than you might think to fall for some of them. And for most of them, one problem is just the annoyance of having them tried on you. We had a guy try the “Your Attraction is Closed” bit on us in Cairo, headed to the Cairo Museum. We ignored him. All it really accomplished in the end was to diminish our overall respect for Egyptian people. A co-worker admits to falling for the “Attractive Girl at the Bar” scam. He was tired,… But got out of it relatively cheaply by calling their bluff on calling the cops.
I had the “closed this morning” pulled on me in front of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. There was one of the brief prayer services occurring at the moment but we were standing maybe 20 feet from the staffed entrance where the opening times were posted – we had to wait 10 minutes. After politely declining, the man proceeded to scream at me for being a racist American who hates Turks. Whatever, buddy.
Friend of mine nearly got fooled by the old switcheroo trying to buy a camera from some guy on the street in Naples. At the last minute he caught on before he gave the guy any cash.
The gypsies in some areas are the worst though – can be so annoying and at times aggressive.
I do worry about the fake currency in some countries where it’s known to be an issue. Despite seeing samples and what to look for online, I always suspect it’s not so easy to discern the difference in real life.
When authorities allow these scammers to keep operating…
This just diminishes the respect for the locals as was mentioned above.
I had a great time in Iran but at the Shiraz airport, knowing leaving with Iranian currency was hopeless, they had some MEGA ridiculous prices selling some food and knick knacks. I thought it was one price but, going to pay, it was clarified I was missing a zero in the end. I looked at her as I set the phucking cookies down shaking my head. I still have the notes and they are cool to look at 🙂
Buenos dias
I received the hotel wake up call in St Petersburg, Russia. Only diff is they didn’t ask about CC details but if I wanted a massage. Oh, it was a young lady, and it was 3 am.
So Peteco,
Don’t leave us hanging – how was the massage?
Did you go all in? 🙂
Local friend warned me. If you go for the massage, a couple things would happen. First the lady will arrive with some alcohol bottle. Second, after the “massage” you would be charged around $1000+ for the “enhanced” massage and expensive booze. Just when you are realizing a scam is unfolding, someone will knock your door. It’s a big guy, allegedly from the hotel security, who wants to make sure the lady leaves quickly after being paid in full.
Let’s just say I didn’t feel any back pain, so I politely declined the offer.
The only thing I want at 3 AM is sleep!
Depends on the jet lag and/or time differentials 🙂
Travel Thought Leader is back at it again:
Police Removed People From Delta Flight Yesterday — This Time It Was the Crew
Watch Tagging Miles link to him again….zzzzzzz.
Great post today, thank you. That Georgia video brought up some wonderful memories, last time I was there it was 1988, still part of Soviet Union, it was a visit to my paternal grandmother. It is a wonderful country, I hope to take my kids there one day so they can see where their last name and heritage comes from.
If that bike path is actually finished in 13 years or 25 years, I hope to try it out. That will definitely will be, take two months off and start riding!
Cheers,
PedroNY
Never been to Georgia. But after watching that video I sure want to.
Not betting that the bike path will be done in less than 20.
Had Georgian dinner in a very suspicious restaurant in a dark corner of Moscow last year. Food was delicious. But I had a feeling I was about to get robbed entering/exiting the building. Followed that up with great caviar and vodka at Grand Cafe Dr. Zhivago. Almost felt like Lufthansa 1st class.
Milenerd reports JETBLUE is matching status if you have SHELL GAS Gold status.
Will they take my Starbucks Gold status? 😉
Does Caribou Coffee do status matches?
Ramsey making things up again.
Don’t forget the “shut the taxi off quickly so the power to the meter is interrupted, so the amount disappears.” Keep looking at the meter every minute or two, especially in Rome.
Never trust them Italians…
and Greeks
Taxi drivers 🙂
“I wouldn’t sign up through a TPG affiliate link if the card gave 100,000 miles for no minimum spend.”
Quote of the day…I couldn’t agree more. Biggest bank pimp on the planet.
He’ll sell the Taco Bell Visa if he could get an exclusive…smh
Posts have been scheduled…
Time to pack!
Screw that..go to sleep and pack tomorrow!
In Buenos Aires, a local couple shot some mustard on my pants, nd started yelling “Bird, Bird” as the wife kindly wiped the mustard off my pants and pulled about $80 put of my pocket.
I figured out the scam as she moved quickly to a waiting taxi. I ran to the taxi, and stuck my head in the open window as the cab pulled away, then grabbed her hand with the money. Now the cab is moving and I am bending her hand backward seriously. She throws the money out the window as the cab slows down.
My heart says I wish I had punched her in the face or maybe a more vulnerable spot. My head says I was a real dumb ass to chase after her, moving cab and all, for $80.
As is often the case, head wins.