We bring you all the details on the cruise line loyalty programs, the inside info on air couriers, warn you about timeshare scams, an amazing chart of carbon emissions, a Tiananmen insider finally speaks out, more on the US gun problem, more options to eat and drink at the Detroit airport, show you how to take care of your sex toys while traveling, amazing animation on the biggest crude oil producers in the last fifty years and lots more content for you. After six and a half years this will lead to “lot more” conversions…yeah….riiiiight. Enjoy my blog while it lasts!
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Hi from Larisa, Greece…where the heat is already off the scales and I am melting down…in all fronts 🙂
In case you were into cruises: The Complete Guide to Cruise Line Loyalty Programs.
I love the pasta at Cantoro so I can not wait to visit the new location! New restaurant options at Detroit Metro Airport include Cantoro market, Atwater Brewery.
For you 😉 How to take sex toys on vacation. If this was written over at The Points Guy it would be preceded with a whole section full of credit card affiliate links how to buy sex toys with the credit cards they sell you at every post lol.
One of the most touching moments in sports. Involves tennis, losing, dad and kiddo. Respect!
I love these animations: The Largest Producers of Crude Oil (1965-2017).
Please wake me up when a higher level official speaks out. At least, she is better than nothing I guess: 30 Years After Tiananmen, a Chinese Military Insider Warns: Never Forget.
Be careful out there! Show this to readers of TPG , they probably need it way more than you TBB readers 🙂 Exiting a timeshare could be another route to a rip-off.
Can’t get enough of the Visual Capitalist site! All the World’s Carbon Emissions in One Chart.
I have a dream…one day we have way less guns…which will lead to way less mass shootings…maybe, you know, we should try it. Meanwhile, be careful out there okay? Guns in America: Our Relationship With Firearms in 5 Charts.
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.
I have never tried this. But after reading about AirMule, I would never ever go near that company! So You Want to Become an Air Courier to Save on Air Fare?
The pace of posts over at The Points Guy is frenetic. And the quality is, cough, well, I let you be the judge when they come out with content like “Should You Consider Flying to Europe for Better Sunscreens?“. Shaking my head to oblivion.
Wait, there is more. Check out what the TPG CEO posted recently:
With tens of full time writers in that joint and a lowly less than 15k comments so far, WTF! Now compare this number to the blogger behind TBB with a staff of none and, please sit down, you get this:
At least I got reader engagement right! And this is when former Frugal Travel Guy owner Rick/Ingy, who sold out way too early, comes out and makes fun of my lack of conversions. Woohoo!
I should have a contest which blog sells out to TPG next:
- View From The Wing
- One Mile at a Time
- Frequent Miler
- Travel is Free
- All of the above by 2021
- A blog you never heard of and when you find out you immediately scream WTF!
My guess, in order:
6, 4, 3
Your turn? 🙂
And I leave you with this…Love pizza gifs!
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.
Lots of good stuff today.
The timeshare exit scam is good to remember. I see lots of ads for this purported service.
Those comments stats are pretty cool, you should be proud.
My TPG guess: none of the above. At this point, I’d argue TPG doesn’t get anything out of advanced points content — in fact it might be unhelpful given their interests. To the extent they need miles and points stuff, it’s the sanitized sort that entry level writers can produce off press releases. No need to pay any premium for a brand blog.
I would love to know what the TPG sales pitch has been to all of these aviation journalists, though: simply money? I just have a hard time imagining how all of these WSJ/NYT/USAT alums make this their next career step. Even if they get the resources to produce real content, TPG is never going to be thought of in that league.
You are probably right. But I am shocked at the continued addition of “wage related expenses” so…there may be room for more?
You are probably right about the journo types too. They went for the money, their industry has been on an amazing downturn with no end in sight so they thought….why not, make some dough while look around for something outside it’.
if I ha a resume on my desk with TPG followed by WSJ/NYT I would throw it in the trash pronto, why waste my time? But times are different I guess…
thanks for the feedback
DML: don’t know what to do about Wednesday, moved to an airbnb now, so much to do here, so much that gets added on top of everything because this is how Greece operates. And I got a nasty blister on my right foot and can barely walk.
Date of return is June 28
On Austrian Airlines business class through Vienna and OHare. Overnight at the Moxy Vienna airport. 70k UA miles and 16k Bonvoy pts. Because this is how I roll lol.
Are we not missing something here?
TPG has 15,000 published comments on 25,000 articles. You can do the maths.
And why are 50,000+ in moderation?!
For comparison, Head for Points has 343,820 comments on 7,956 posts.
Oops, meant to type 15k not 55k!
Maybe the 55k in moderation were non favorable? 🙂
Those 55k comments in moderation haven’t yet been approved by the Bonvoy Marketing VP. George, with that percentage of reader engagement, you should look at shilling credit cards or maybe negotiate with Ingy to buy TBB – he could get back in post a few App-O-Rama posts, and then sell out early to TPG!
Thanks, that made me lol, appreciate it!
Hope it is a nice Airbnb you are in! I love using that system anymore. Free nights just for when I need to be somewhere but otherwise, more than a day, no way on Hotels anymore.
Sounds like you got a lot on your plate there in Greece, George. Take care of yourself even as you are there to care for someone else.
Hope all will be ok there!
PS I carried a gun for 2 years as a Border Patrol Agent. I do not own one now that I am retired.l There is no need for most people to have a gun other than actual provide food hunting. This country is gun crazy!
The airbnb is ok so far. Will have a better take on it after I sleep in it tonight.
My foot has the nastiest blister….ffalling behind on the running and am ahead in eating…so it is dangerous, I need to get the hell out of this place before I go down 🙂
Founder George, you gotta get Carl P. to do a post or tell us what it was like working on the Border. Carl if you read this thank you for your service and putting your life on the line.
Founder George, Carl’s stories have to be better than my cock blocking Cher and Gene Simmons from the Mile High Club story…..make him an intern!
Where is founder Ingy?
If you’re looking for few comments (maybe ZERO) go to TPG’s UK site. A lot has been invested and not much revenue to shown for it. My bet is on TPG giving Head4Points a great offer.
For 7 figures they would be a solid performer on the UK market.
The other options do not add anything. #4 is too big of a risk. let’s cut articles about AirMule and buying Airbnb properties. #3 is an option, but TPG’s audience isn’t much into MS (and may risk relationship w/ Chase et al).
I guess time will tell.
I think #4 will have the less $$ offer so it would not be that much of a risk dollar wise.
I agree on HFP.
Need to hit the bed, life in Greece is just exhausting!
I think you’re right from a $$ standpoint, but I think the bigger issue is that so much of #4’s content is the sort that would irritate the programs (I doubt Delta would approve of him scraping the prices on every skymiles route combination).
Other guesses:
– Rapid Travel Chai
– Seth
– FTU (TPG Events seems inevitable)
Also, curiously, nothing so far has come from the EF acquisition.
Events are a lot of work for not a lot of money, and the low level of TPG reader engagement (as per the number of comments) does not bode well for ticket sales.
@Conventional Wisdom – I’ll take that as flattering though I’ve hardly been blogging for some time, even if I were to want to sell the value to a buyer would be minimal. I could see myself writing occasionally for certain journalistic publications, not at likely to content marketing sites. I plan to eventually get back to regular blogging.
If you ever want to write (and get paid for) a trip report on them islands near Yemen..I would LOVE to post it here. I am still in awe of that beach!
@Stefan — Definitely meant as a compliment. I think you are far underselling the potential value (separate and apart from RTC) that a points and miles credit card content marketing site should find in you (you’ve leveraged points and miles to accomplish something points adjacent; can’t pay some freelancer a few bucks to come up with that sort of content).
But I’m glad to hear you don’t see yourself heading down that point, and that you’re looking to blog more regularly. Enjoyed your discussion on the Observation Deck podcast.
If you remove the firearm suicides, the US falls out of the Top 20 countries for firearm deaths per capita…a majority of gun deaths are suicides (judging by their first chart) – I wouldn’t have guessed that. Our suicide-by-gun rate is the highest of the rest of the Top 20 – and except for Uruguay, it’s a lot higher than any other in that list. That’s horrifying and shocking. I’ve read elsewhere that suicide (from any method) is among the leading causes of death in the US. I’ve been touched by it a few times personally…and I think most of my friends have also had more than one loved one kill themselves. So sad.
The next Best of Web post I do has an article about this sad topic. If not the next, the one after that definitely!
It has been a very productive morning here in Greece today. Making some progress. Everything here is infinitely harder than it should be….so the bureaucrats can justify their paychecks and the politicians who buy their votes and hire them to make our life harder, sad!
its weird, you see the political structure in Greece and how its not working. Yet you come back to the US and vote for the same thing. Go figure
Lol, why stop there? A vote for a pinko Democrats is a vote for Stalin, Lenin, Mao, Castro and AOC.
You should try using government functions in the red south. Completely worthless. Makes me wonder why I pay for anything but the school. And schools rank pretty low here. Governing should be about more than gerrymandering, suppressing minority votes and restricting abortion rights. And nobody’s better at running unnecessary federal deficits than republicans.
MU: Dude, you are way off on this one!
ABC: “And nobody’s better at running unnecessary federal deficits than republicans.” So sadly true!
Good article about a site that I find more and more worthless each time I visit it: https://thehustle.co/botto-bistro-1-star-yelp/?utm_source=pocket-newtab
Ramsey, Have you tried the Stroopwaffle McFlurry yet? Perfect for a hot day….
Brief respite from politics:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PrnVkKN0HE