Another TBB post featuring the most eclectic links around the web such as an ETF Investing Guide, AI Trendz, the new guy in Syria, massive United card changes, the price of admission investing in stocks, Obamacare possible changes, JP Morgan Chase lawsuit verdict is almost here, geography games, live crime tracker, airline safety videos primer, the serial airline founder, driving Ferraris in Italy, medical tourism in Thailand and earthquakes in Myanmar, the best photography 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. Enjoy the weekend and file your tax returns now.
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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.
This is a one man labor of love operation, enjoy it while it lasts.
BLOG HOUSEKEEPING
This blog continues someway somehow posting on Fridays catering to curious minds. No algorithms, no AI, no clickbait, no sponsors, no ads. Think of my posts as our own Signal chat group where I share with you the best gems from around the web. Or something like that.
Support what you value. Without such support it is not possible to continue to exist. Thank you for reading, great to have you.
PERSONAL FINANCE
Fantastic post: The Price of Admission. I have covered many of these points for many years in my blog. Such as:
…risk is always present, even if you can’t always see it.
It’s now been 16 years since the March 2009 low, and the S&P 500 has gained over 1,000%. That’s an annualized total return of over 16% per year. There have been 30 corrections since the March 2009 low of more than 5%. Of these, 10 were larger than 10%, 4 exceeded 20%, and 1 was more than 30%.
Before investing, many will tell you that they can stomach a 20% decline – they can “tolerate” such a risk. But when it actually happens, and real dollars are at stake, the true test begins. [You only find out your true risk tolerance when you go through one of these gut wrenching periods].
…large declines and the fear-inducing narratives associated with them are the price of admission for long-term investors…In simplest terms: risk is the price you pay for the possibility of higher long-term reward.
…there’s no free lunch. The premium you earn from owning equities over bonds/cash is primarily due to the higher volatility and drawdowns you must stomach over time…Importantly, the equity premium is not static. And it is by no means guaranteed, particularly in the short run, but over longer periods as well.
In the median year since 1928, an investor in the S&P 500 has experienced a 13% drawdown at some point during the year.
…if you’re a long-term investor in equities, experiencing a large decline is a matter of when, not if.
Excellent primer on Exchange Traded Funds ETFs: Morningstar’s Guide to ETF Investing. I must admit I am still shocked how the ETFs have won the game (vs. mutual funds) so to speak and how popular they have become with no end in sight. In my own wealth management firm I have been using broad based ETFs for a very long time. As in over 20 years. I remember I went to an advisor conference and when I stated that I solely use ETFs one colleague took me aside to tell me “how do you trust these things?”. I don’t use ETFs for active investing and sure don’t use them at all for thematic (trendy) purposes. Strictly dirt cheap super boring broad based ETFs. Most client portfolios’ expense ratios are well under 0.10%. Some have even reached 0.04%! I am not accepting new clients by the way since Covid. But I am getting to an age I need to seriously address succession planning. But that is a heavy topic for another day I am avoiding by blogging here lol.
I have several clients who would not have retired so early if Obamacare health insurance was not available to them. And, in combination with the huge turmoil in all of government agencies lately, brace for impact ahead: Obamacare Enrollees Could See Big Changes in 2026. A proposed rule would restrict “eligibility, enrollment and affordability” in plans under the Affordable Care Act, health policy analysts say. Be aware and be prepared.
Very interesting: The Highest Marginal Income Tax Rate for Each U.S. State.
SCAMS/CRYPTO/AI/TECH
The lady who fooled Jamie Dimon at JP Morgan Chase is on trial. She’s Accused of Duping JPMorgan. Somehow, the Bank Is Feeling the Heat. And I must admit her lawyers are doing a really good job and they may just convince one juror that she is not guilty. Still a tall order imho. Do I think she is guilty? Hell yeah! Lots of juicy details are revealed in this article.
The AI changes are dizzying and there is really no way to keep up with them. Well, maybe this site can help: AI Trendz. It bills itself as THE site to Find The Best AI Tools On The Internet and Maximize your productivity with a curated AI tools directory. Have you found an AI app that really changed your life for the better? Please let us know in the comments.
Since we are on the topic of AI, here are the Most Popular AI Tools by Monthly Site Visits. No surprise that ChatGPT is way ahead at #1 but watch out for deepseek by the Chinese (has grown 2,205% since its debut in January).
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ODDZ & ENDZ
I used to have a separate section for Geopolitics. Not anymore, my posts are way too long without it. I still really enjoy reading about the subject and now only add must read pieces in this section instead. And this is one of them: Can Ahmed al-Sharaa Hold Syria Together? Ever since the shockingly fast collapse of the Assad family dynasty and the emergence of this dude from his jihadist roots, it has been incredibly surprising and giving hope vibes for the country to rise from the ashes. Maybe he is the one to do it? Let’s hope for the best. My new barber is Syrian and he shares the same feelings, very optimistic and guarded as well.
My favorite subject in school was Geography. But I decided to study Business in college because I wanted to eat lol. Anyway, if the internet was around when I was younger I would spend hours every day playing games in this site: Settera Geography Games. More than 400 free map quiz games in more than 40 languages.
It is so horrible living in the US with so much crime. Oh, wait: NORC’s Live Crime Tracker Shows Major Crime Declines in 2024.
Amazing photography: Winners of the British Wildlife Photography Awards 2025.
TRAVEL
Have you seen lots of buzz around airline safety videos in the recent past? Well, you are not wrong. This article explains it all: The booming, high-stakes arms race of airline safety videos. It’s all about marketing I guess. And no other airline other than Air New Zealand does buzzy safety videos better.
There are some people out there who are just born to start airlines. David Neeleman is one of them: Meet the Man Who Can’t Stop Founding Budget Airlines. David Neeleman has founded five airlines, including JetBlue, by repeatedly reinventing and disrupting the business. Interesting guy to say the least. One of these days I will fly Breeze to check it out.
I am shocked that Las Vegas is on the list. And not Ann Arbor, Michigan: The 10 US Cities With the Most Green Space.
- Anchorage, Alaska
- Chesapeake, Virginia
- Scottsdale, Arizona
- Fremont, California
- Jacksonville, Florida
- Honolulu, Hawaii
- New Orleans, Louisiana
- North Las Vegas, Nevada
- Virginia Beach, Virginia
- Santa Clarita, California
Thinking to travel to Italy to drive some Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Maseratis you guys. Will bring along all nine of you who went out of your way to support this blog over the years. After I sell my blog for several zeroes, hopefully they all come before the decimal lol. Vroom! Touring Italy’s Supercar Factories. Has anyone done this yet?
Several readers are very knowledgeable about Thailand. I am thinking the next time I visit I become a medical tourist. As in, going to have a batch of complete medical tests/checkups. I was going to do them at Bumrungrad Hospital. But after researching it a bit more I am not so sure. Maybe Praram 9 hospital is better? Any other places? Your feedback is appreciated.
And continuing the YouTube videos on Thailand, here is an entertaining one by someone who has been working in Thailand for many years making fun of Farangs (male westerners living/vacationing in the Land of Smiles): Dear Farangs.
Breaking: Just happened overnight before posting today, wow. Massive Earthquake Hits Thailand & Myanmar, Bangkok Buildings Inc Hotels Restricted. This is a developing story. 7.7 earthquake is huge. Update: Tim Newton Today has already come out with several video updates. I think the bad news from Myanmar, the quake epicenter, is going to look awful, brace yourselves.
… A strong earthquake rocked Myanmar, shaking buildings and triggering evacuations in neighboring Thailand and Vietnam, with a second temblor felt soon afterwards. The quake measured 7.7 in magnitude, according to the USGS, which said it was 16 kilometers northwest of Sagaing, Myanmar at a depth of 10 kilometers. It struck at about 1:21 p.m. in Bangkok and was the strongest worldwide since 2023, according to USGS data compiled by Bloomberg. There was a second temblor of 6.4 magnitude around the same area, the USGS said. …
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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
Here we go again. There were massive changes in the United credit cards last week and will have them all in a separate section further down in this post. And scroll even further down to see the “My Action and Blog Buzzing” section where I expand on this travelhacking stuff. The cost benefit ratio playing in this space is closing in to the point where one day we all say phuck it, this does not make sense anymore…
But wait, let me first say a few things about this hobby. I still remember the day back in the 90’s when I actually opened a credit card solicitation in the mail. And took my time to read everything, including the fine print. And then it hit me! A bank was willing to give me a credit card, usually without an annual fee or waive it for the first year, a bunch of bonus miles for signing up and agreeing to spend a low amount within a certain period and not charge me any interest of course if I paid my monthly bill in full. Wait what, seriously? I mean, come on, this can’t be real or legal, right? So I did it and, well, after many earned millions of miles/points I have not looked back since lol.
Over the past thirty years so many things have changed. Signup bonuses have gotten much larger, spending requirements and annual fees have gotten higher, bank restrictions are now sometimes suffocating, all kinds of fees have entered the space, and oh boy the devaluations have been relentless. But, the key point remains: Banks will give you a bunch of miles to sign up for a credit card that could be worth many times over what it will cost you to get and keep the card (maybe not for long). This takes time and mental bandwidth along with great money habits and discipline and organization skills. Therefore, these days I don’t get out of bed for any credit cards south of 75k miles/points signup bonus and aiming for a net gain of around $1k per signup or more. And having a P2 (Player 2, spouse or other trusted family member) always helps to strategically apply for credit cards and spread the love so to speak. I have slowed down big time but I still can’t stop myself getting new credit card offers with fat signup bonuses. I think it is an addiction and need help? That was a joke by the way. Kind of. Next week I am expecting north of 100k United miles for the United Business card to land and my wife will apply for the 80k United Explorer card on April 1st using my links of course. Off my soapbox now. Maybe read my short guide to getting started with credit cards, points and miles.
Banks and airlines are pushing things so much lately that we are nearing that threshold of finding another hobby. I mean, switching to all cash back cards and pouncing on them and buy our travel with all the cash back stash. Look at what happened to airline elite programs. And what is happening to airline lounges and all airlines pretty much going all dynamic pricing all around all the time. We were on the way there until the pandemic saved this hobby and pushed back that reckoning day. But we are back at it. The last shoes to drop bigly are the programs of Alaska Airlines and World of Hyatt. The other day I saw a business class fare on Turkish Airlines from New York to Athens, Greece for low $2,000s and I considered it. If it was from Detroit I would probably buy it. I can’t believe I just typed that! This was heresy for many years playing in this space. I guess we all evolve lol.
Let’s get back on track.
But to wet your appetite, here is an article in the mainstream media about the massive United card changes: Your United Airlines Credit Card is Going to Cost More.
The devaluation hits keep on coming. And this is not pretty. At all: A First Look at Aeroplan’s New Flight Reward Chart. Yikes, this hurts. So glad I did not transfer proactively more Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Aeroplan.
In my opinion, the biggest impact of these changes are to Aeroplan redemptions with United Airlines. In the above examples, we saw everything from no change in price to 100% increases, and there are sure to be many other examples. For the most part, the changes to United Airlines redemptions that took effect today represent a fairly significant devaluation. In the searches done by our team, we couldn’t find any flights that price at the “Starting at” levels in the new chart, and most appeared to be more in line with the listed median values.
When it comes to using Aeroplan points to book flights with Etihad Airways, the new pricing just doesn’t appear to be competitive when compared to the same flights booked through other loyalty programs.
For specific examples how award prices have risen after this “enhancement”, see this: Oh (No) Canada: Here’s How Many More Aeroplan Miles You’ll Need For Travel On United And Canadian North.
It looks like World of Hyatt will not come out with a double elite night credit type promotion, so sad. Instead, we get this promo good only on casino properties, all 20 of them, boo! 777 Bonus Points.
The loyalty currency Avios several loyalty companies currently using (British Airways Club, Club Iberia Plus, Qatar Airways Privilege Club, Finnair Plus, Vueling Club, AerClub, Loganair) can be earned by flying, please sit down, 37 different airlines, wow.
We are all disappointed by how Southwest lost its soul by relenting on the “Bags Fly Free” thingie. I was not surprised at all that they finally made the change to assigned seating. Anyway, the stock market has shown (so far) that it liked the move because it is salivating about all the extra revenue (and profits) bag fees will generate? Getting clearer now as every day goes by: Southwest provides updates re checked bags, dynamic pricing & more. And, you know, of course: Southwest Dynamic Award Pricing Brings More Bad News.
TRAVEL REWARDS CREDIT CARDS
In our family, the Sapphire Preferred card by my favorite bank. A four of us hold AND keep the Sapphire Preferred card. I call it our anchor card. There are not that many keeper/anchor type cards you guys.
Capital One Bank is weird. And can be very stingy and frustrating in approving credit card applications. Whenever you get approved by this bank, celebrate. Because you deserve it. Anyway, for a long time we have been trying to figure out what makes this bank tick. And we have a few observations. Are You Eligible For the Capital One Venture Rewards Card? First, yes you can get this card even if you currently hold the Capital One Venture X card, let’s get this out of the way. But bear a few “rules” in mind with this bank:
The official restriction:
Existing or previous cardmembers are not eligible if they have received a new cardmember bonus in the past 48 months.
And the following unofficial restrictions:
Capital One only allows you to hold two of its personal credit cards at any given time. Co-branded credit cards, like the Capital One Walmart Card, and business cards like the Capital One Venture X Business and the Capital One Spark Miles for Business are excluded from this count.
If you have applied and been approved for any other Capital One credit card in the past six months, it’s unlikely that you’ll be approved for the Venture … or any Capital One card, for that matter. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule. But generally speaking, taking a six month breather with Capital One will give you the best chances of getting approved.
And if you really want to boost your odds of getting approved, that six month break should extend to other banks, too. It’s in your best interest to limit any and all credit checks for at least a few months before you decide to apply with Capital One.
Capital One indicates that you will need an “Excellent Credit” score to be approved for the Venture Card. That means those with a credit score above 740 will have the best chances of being approved. However, we have also seen reports of travelers with “Good Credit,” between 700 and 740, getting approved.
Most importantly, NOTHING is set in stone with this bank. Your mileage may vary. And it does quite often. So, give it a chance, lower your expectations and you may be surprised.
To help this blog, please use these links to apply, thank you:
75k Capital One Venture Rewards AND $250 Travel Credit
HUGE CHANGES TO UNITED CARDS
First, if you want to read the basics AND apply for these cards, please read this below AND use the links in it to apply to help my blog, thank you!
United Revamps Credit Card Lineup in a Big Way – Here’s What’s New
For the record, in my household I now have the 100k (raised to 125k with current offer) United Business card and my wife be applying for the 80k United Explorer card. These two cards will get us close to 200k United miles. I am not getting them because I love the changes with these cards, I actually hate them and most likely won’t be keeping both cards for very long, we’ll see. Be opportunistic and be of the mindset to take from the banks, make them bailout your travel budget instead. 🙂
Basically, we have the following elevated offers:
-
United Explorer Card: 80K Bonus, $150 Fee (waived first year)
-
United Quest Card: 95K Bonus, $350 Fee
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United Club Card: 95K Bonus, $695 Fee
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United Business Card: 125K Bonus, $150 Fee
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United Club Business Card: 125K Bonus, $695 Fee
Miles Earn and Burn summed it up nicely imho:
– Every card with an annual fee gets a bigger annual fee
– The no-annual fee Gateway card doesn’t get XN inventory access unless you have $10,000 in annual spend
– One time lounge access passes are no longer transferable
– You can now earn 1K status with nothing but spend on either of the ridiculously priced $695 personal and business Club cards
– There are new credits on the annual fee cards, most of which are annoying, carved up throughout the year, and less valuable than they seem
– Lounge access gets more restrictive without massive spend
Dans Deals has an excellent summary of all the changes here: WOW! United Massively Overhauls Credit Card Program And Lounge Access; The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly.
The most concerning trend? Chase following Amex’s couponization ways: United’s overwhelming coupon-book onslaught.
Again, to help the blog, learn how to apply for these cards from my favorite bank with the links in this post below:
United Revamps Credit Card Lineup in a Big Way – Here’s What’s New
More elevated offers finally from Chase:
200k IHG Business Premier
This card is going from 140k to 200k and it happens in two stages. You earn 140k points after spending $4k in the first three months. And the final 60k points after spending an additional $5k (for a total of $9k in six months. The annual fee is $99. The card earns 10x on IHG, 5X on travel, gas stations, restaurants and dining, social media and search engine advertising, office supply stores and 3x on everything else. You get Platinum status as long as you hold this card AND a Free Night cert every year (yes you can top it off to stay in more expensive hotels!). So basically, you get a night for $99 and everything else is a cherry on top #winning. Up to $50 in United Travel Bank credit every year. You also can earn one $100 statement credit and 10k points after you spend $20k on the card. You can earn IHG Diamond status after you spend $40k on the card (please don’t). You can even earn another free night cert (up to 40k points) after you spend $60k on the card. Fourth night free in award stays. 20% discount on points purchases. No foreign transaction fees. Of course you get the usual TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS reimbursement as statement credits. Available from my favorite bank HERE.
We have two NEW great Amex Hilton cards elevated welcome offers:
70k AND Free Night Hilton Honors American Express Card
This is the basic Hilton entry level No Annual Fee card. The signing bonus is 70,000 Hilton Honors points AND a Free Night Award, which matches the BEST EVER welcome offer. The minimum spend is only $2k in the first six months. You also get Silver elite status which includes benefits like a 20% points bonus on stays, free bottled water, the 5th night free on reward stays, and elite rollover nights. The earning structure on the card is: 7x on Hilton purchases, 5x on restaurants, groceries and gas stations and 3x on everything else. These Hilton Free Night certs can be used in ANY property anytime which makes them much more valuable than all other hotel free night certs by far. No foreign transaction fees. If you spend $20k on the card you get upgraded to Hilton Honors Gold elite status. If you like Hiltons and abhor paying annual fees this card could work for you.
130k AND Free Night Hilton Honors Surpass American Express Card
I have this card because Hilton is my #2 hotel program (and closing in to #1 Hyatt). The annual fee is $150 but you can get up to $200 per year ($50 per quarter) credits if you stay in Hiltons or buy a $50 Hilton gift card online (temporarily out of stock). It also gives me Hilton Gold Elite status which is great, especially overseas where you get more upgrades and free breakfast (you get a daily food & beverage credit on US stays). Signing Bonus is 130,000 Hilton Honors points AND a Free Night Award cert, which matches the BEST EVER welcome offer. The minimum spend is a surprisingly low $3k in the first six months. These Hilton free night certs can be used in ANY property anytime which makes them much more valuable than all other hotel free night certs by far. You can earn a second Free Night Award cert after you spend $15k on the card every year. Earning is also very good with 12x on Hilton purchases, 6x on restaurants, groceries and gas stations, 4x on online retail purchases and 3x on everything else. You can upgrade to Diamond elite status if you spend $40k on the card. No foreign transaction fees.
Another elevated offer from Capital One:
75k CAPITAL ONE Venture Rewards PLUS $250 Travel Credit
The annual fee is $95 and the minimum spend required is $4,000 in three months. Capital One cards usually earn a simple flat 2 points on every dollar. This card earns 5x on hotels and car rentals booked on its own travel portal. No foreign transaction fees. Get $120 credit towards Global Entry or TSA Precheck. Complimentary Hertz Five Star elite status. Most importantly, you can transfer the 75,000 points out to airline and hotel partners. Or just erase travel charged on the card for $750. And then of course you get the $250 travel credit. Basically, $1,000 of travel for $95. Very tempting indeed. For diversifying purposes as well if you have enough miles and points elsewhere as it is always nice to use this card to pay for a trip and then use Capital One miles to erase the charges. Capital One can be, well, finicky in approvals. If you are denied, you can not call to ask them to reconsider, it is all done by algorithms so, good luck! Finally, YES, you can have both the Venture X and the Venture Rewards cards.
Frankly, if you only go for one Capital One card it should be the Venture X, see below, no brainer. Oh, by the way, only the Venture X card gets you into Capital One lounges for free.
Please help the small independent blogs like mine continue to exist by supporting them with your CREDIT CARD clicks, thank you!
TOP TRAVEL REWARDS CREDIT CARD OFFER RIGHT NOW, BAR NONE IS:
The 75K CAPITAL ONE Venture X card has a minimum spend of $4k in the first three months. If you like simplicity and looking for one (premium) card, I highly recommend this card (and yes, I have it myself!). It has an annual fee of $395 but it comes with an easy $300 statement credit for travel booked on its own travel portal, essentially turning it into a $95 annual fee card. But wait, there is more! On each card anniversary you earn 10,000 points essentially making it FREE! Every dollar of spend earns 2 points and flights booked on the travel portal earn 5 points per dollar. You get access to Capital One and Plaza Premium airport lounges and a Priority Pass Select lounge membership and, this is important, you can add FOUR authorized users FOR FREE who can also have their own Priority Pass Select airline lounge membership and, this is BIG, they can bring in unlimited guests with their FREE Priority Pass card! You can transfer your Capital One points to up to 18 Transfer Partners. No foreign transaction fees. Free Hertz President’s Circle rental car top elite status. Cell phone protection and PRIMARY rental car coverage. Awesome seats at baseball stadiums for just 5k points each. And lots more. If you prefer, this is my personal referral link.
Click on my TOP CREDIT CARD OFFERS to see a DETAILED explanation of the features of these cards.
Here are my three TOP CREDIT CARD OFFERS as of today:
The #1 Top Offer is the 75k Capital One Venture X card. It is amazing what you get for FREE with this card!
The #2 Top Offer right now is the 75k Chase Ink Business Unlimited card.
The #3 Top Offer right now is 75k CHASE Ink Business Cash card.
Learn more about these offers HERE.
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 (and you don’t have to hunt down the link in my Credit Cards page!)
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
Just a few hours before World of Hyatt raised the Category levels (and award prices) of many of its properties, I burned 36,000 World of Hyatt points and a Globalist confirmed suite upgrade for three nights at the magnificent Hyatt Regency in Koh Samui, Thailand over Thanksgiving later this year. I may end up canceling it though, depending on the travel plans that are still kind of up in the air (pun intended).
I recently got the United Business card and will be getting another 100+k United miles next week. And then Chase decided to refresh the offer and raise the signup bonus miles to 125k. Hate when that happens every time. Dear readers, we have no idea when a bank will do such a thing and sorry if this ever happened to you, I share your feelings. Over the years Chase has been incredibly accommodating and freely matched the higher offers. Not anymore, I already tried via secure messaging and a bank rep told me to pound sand: Will Chase Match The New Increased Signup Bonus Offers? Apparently, the bank will still match higher Sapphire type card offers but nope on United. But I will not give up so easily, I will be ringing in to talk to a supervisor #nevergiveup.
After the latest two United cards signup bonus miles coming, I am going to have about 400k United miles in two accounts. I guess this is where the next trip to Thailand will come from. I realize United award prices are higher than Air Canada Aeroplan but with the new Aeroplan devaluation the difference has decreased. And I really like how I can cancel United award reservations and get my miles back immediately. Instead of paying a premium in miles to book cancelable award flights with Aeroplan. What sucks is that the no annual fee United Gateway I card I have mainly to enjoy the expanded award search availability is no longer applicable without spending $10k on the card. Which is an obvious hell no. So maybe by next year I take my United miles balances to zero and cancel all the United cards and move on with my life. Unless we lay low for a little while until the next round of 100k+ signup bonus offers roll around again, it never ends lol.
Travel picture for the rest of the year is becoming a little clearer. Wife’s family pilgrimage trip to ancestors’ village in China is postponed to 2026. One of my two nieces in Greece can not visit the US this year. I am currently waiting to find out if they both can make it in 2026. If not, I think I am going ahead with bringing one of them to the US this August. I have the wedding of my nephew in mid September taking place in the beautiful island of Kefalonia (airport code: EFL) that is still a possibility and a long shot. But, you know, I have done crazier bookings in my long history of hacking things up in my travelhacking mode #alwaysdeveloping.
I am down to just one client tax return to put a close to the 2024 tax season, hooray. Just waiting for a K-1 tax form to arrive…
I have been sharing in my Instagram a picture every day this week from our legendary trip to Banff and Jasper national parks in Alberta, Canada. People ask me what is my favorite place and I respond with “Lake Louise inside Banff National Park” every time since this visit. One day I am going to take my imaginary grandkids there… #lifegoals.
I finally saw a great movie, Magazine Dreams. Blown away by the acting of Jonathan Majors, a very disturbing and sad movie about mental health, it stays with you…
The Greek national soccer team is resurrecting itself. With a universally liked Serbian coach who has been coaching in Greece for years and is known for developing young talent. And he has managed to turn around the team with very young players playing a very exciting style. How young? Average age is below 23. He convinced a 17 year old born in Belgium to Greek parents to play for the national team and the kid debuted in the first game against Scotland in Greece (Greece lost 1-0 after playing very well) and then started in the game in Scotland and scored an amazing goal with the Greeks winning 3-0 and advancing to the top Nations League group. And now we play six games in the group with Denmark, Scotland (again) and Belarus to qualify for the 2026 World Cup to be held in Mexico, Canada and USA.
Tomorrow morning my hometown soccer team AEL FC in Larissa, Greece is playing a BIG game. With a win we make it official the team is returning back to the Greek First Division, where this team belongs after three awful years finishing second and missing the promotion boat. With a tie, the team needs just one more win in the last three games. Even with a loss we can still advance by winning two of the last three very winnable games. So, in the remote chance of self-destructing, we are soooooo close and I wish I was there to celebrate! The game will be shown live HERE with a Saturday start time 9.00 am EST.
Is it just me or we are lacking any true upset and cinderella teams in this year NCAA tournament or what? Looking forward to see if both University of Michigan and Michigan State win tonight to set up a matchup on Sunday to win a spot in the Final Four.
HOT CREDIT CARD OFFERS:
75k CHASE Ink Business Cash, 75k CAPITAL ONE Venture X, 200k CHASE IHG Business Premier, 75k CHASE Ink Business Unlimited, 125k CHASE United Business, 80k CHASE United Explorer, 150k AMEX Business Platinum, 200k CAPITAL ONE Spark Cash Plus, 150k CAPITAL ONE Venture X Business, $1,000 Cash Back CHASE Ink Business Premier, 75k CAPITAL ONE Venture Rewards AND $250 Travel Credit, 90k CHASE Ink Business Preferred, 60k Chase Sapphire Preferred, 80k CHASE Southwest Performance Business, 15k AMEX Blue Business Plus and many more!
Learn How To Apply HERE to support the blog. Or email me if you have any questions about any cards, I’m happy to help, thank you!
As of today, I have burned 211,000 miles/points year to date (2,027,816 in 2024) and have 4,368,772 miles/points in the bank.
Remember, you are NOT allowed to ever carry a credit card balance!
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.
George
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The first two rounds of the NCAA tournament were the lamest of my life. Very little in the way of upsets and most of the games were blowouts. Some good games last night anyway.
We may end up doing a Los Angeles to Grand Canyon (North Rim) to Utah trip this summer instead of the Michigan trip we had planned. It’ll be hot but we’d try to get to the high desert for some of the trip anyway. Highway 12 in Utah is supposed to be beautiful. Time to start figuring out which points to use for which locations…
If you go through Utah and can go by Hole In The Rock, do so, if you have not seen it. Great Roadside America thing!
I need to move on…I am starting to lose even the few regulars now smh.
Also, pray for Myanmar.
Will come back over the weekend when I am done marking attendance, so many absences. Or hopefully just tardy lol.
@ Nick: Come to Michigan, we need more tourists. Our Canadian brothers and sisters are boycotting is because they don’t want to be the 51st US state, despite what the mega buffoon keeps insisting!
is—->us
Some video footage of the earthquake. Pretty bad. Apparently a building collapsed.
https://x.com/Top_Disaster/status/1905545455364194747
Shouldn’t the title of this comment section be “Leave a comment”, not Leave a Reply?
Well done on the Koh Samui booking. I was eyeing off this week for a booking over the Christmas period but still undecided. As for the medical in Thailand, I did have testing at Bumrungrad this year and found it a very slick, well run organisation. We are planning to do a full medical check up next time we return. Sometimes it is better to be proactive rather than reactive to health situations.
So sad to see the earthquake devastation. Waiting to hear full reports of how much actual damage there is in Bangkok.
I’m finding it to be a weird travel year. Not too much enthusiasm for planning too much, is it burn out? Is it just exhaustion from the orange baboon’s daily antics? Is it fear of the world going to hell before our eyes? Feels like we are all turning into individuals turning inwards, don’t bother about the needs of anyone else. The America first BS is making everyone else do the same as I know I’m now not buying anything American owned or made.
UPDATE: Charlie Javice has been found guilty of defrauding Chase of $175 million. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/28/charlie-javice-found-guilty-jpmorgan-chase.html
P2’s IHG biz card application went to pending. I suspect it will go through but am unsure if that would credit to March if it takes a few weekdays to clear. Interesting data point. I’m interested in hearing more about medical tourism in Thailand in the future if the opportunity presents itself.
Greetings from an incredibly hot and hazy/smoky Chiang Mai. Latest METAR at the airport has it at 99 degrees and visibility of 3 miles. AQI in the 150-180s.
The aftershocks have abated, at least perceptible ones. It seems Chiang Mai didn’t have as much damage as in Bangkok, even being closer to the epicenter, I would assume that’s due to less high rises and maybe a higher building standard, but take thai building standards at your own risk….the two condo pools I can see didn’t even look like any water spilled out.
Maybe was 2 minutes of shaking during the main quake, with about 30 seconds of fairly strong shaking. The USGS had it as about a 4.5 intensity here, which I even learned there’s a seismic station at the base of the mountain about a 9 minute drive from where I am currently typing this so you know that 4.5 is pretty on the nose.
But yes, very sad about yet another tragedy occurring in Myanmar, the Burmese have been through so much just in the past 5-10 years. I would also assume the vast majority of deaths that come out of the building collapse in Bangkok will be Burmese as well, since so many have fled the war across the border. They make up most of the manual laborers and menial jobs these days in much of Southeast Asia, similar to our own undocumented workers in the US.
A friend in town, whose partner is from Mandalay, said it best: “Imagine escaping war for a better life, only to be ‘finished’ by an earthquake. Fucking bad luck of some poor people…”
…..
I can’t speak to any of the hospital you quotes, but in general Thai private hospitals are quite good. My only experience was during the test and go covid-era where the government required an additional PCR test post-entry due to a spike in cases, but I found them to all be professional and those I know that have had work done speak highly of them. Also, the same goes for dental services as well.
Only a few more week in the Kingdom then cashing in some miles to fly business on the longest flight in the world. Singapore to JFK. If you are going to cash in some miles, might as well do it for an 18 hours flight!
Will try to reply on Sunday.
My hometown team did not win but did not lose either. Waiting for the celebration until the next game, the promotion to the First Division is not going to be lost now.
Hi from rainy Ann Arbor, enjoy the weekend.
Not shocked University of Michigan lost, great year though, no one thought Sweet 16 and winning the Big 10 Tournament was in store this year.
@ Nick PFD: Canadians are not traveling to the US. Someone should research which locations they visit the most, I bet you there are some huge bargains to be had, thanks Donald.
@ The Old Goat: At first, I wondered what the hell you were talking about. But now I see it. I am going to assign this to an intern for research and fixing. In other words, it is what it is 🙂
@ Vicky: Weird travel year indeed. I think it has a lot to do with Donald’s crap that keeps coming at us every hour. Makes using miles/points for killer redemptions/trips, etc. just not that significant anymore? Looking more at Thailand medical tourism. If we make it there again later this year I am going to do full medical tests. And I am going to try to add a couple of nights to the Conrad Koh Samui, one using a Free Night Cert which should be landing in the next month or two. Seeing lots of cracks in many condos in Bangkok. Park Hyatt has closed until complete safety checks are done, wonder what they do with the guests in such case.
@ Christian: Thank you again, if it wasn’t readers like you this blog would have died way before Covid hit us. I’ll post about medical tourism more if I find worthy information. To Educate, you know, the blog mission and stuff like that.
@ bob: Thank you so much about the update from Chiang Mai. Glad to see you are safe. Poor Myanmar, how much can the Burmese take? I wonder how this will impact the civil war.
Did you guys receive the email with this post? Maybe Mailchimp did not send it out? This is why DML and Carl have not checked in? Hope they are safe!
I have enough material to do 1.5 Friday posts already, wow! The queue is getting longer and longer. I am spending way too much time here guys, I need intervention lol.
Bring on the Final 4, go Michigan State.
Enjoy Sunday!
I am starting to think the regulars are relying on the email sent by Mailchimp to learn of new blog posts. And somehow the email did not go out on Friday? Can someone let me know if you received the email.
Hope they are all okay!
Just watched MSU go down. All four #1 seeds are in the Final Four this year at the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament. How boring is that, wow!
Sometimes I wonder what the hell I am doing here…as I lost another email subscriber. Hope my wife reads this and implements an intervention lol.
So, Mailchimp never sent the email out!
Trying to figure this one out and I get this message below repeatedly:
We are experiencing longer than normal wait times. Thank you for your patience, an expert will be with you as soon as possible.
I ain’t got time for this shit. The day to move to Substack is closer. And giving this site one more month. With the Chase Sapphire Preferred 100k bonus coming in a few days, this is it, make or break time.
Sorry to be late!
I spent the weekend working on taxes! At least the flowers are out.
Ok, marking you down as “Excused Absence” this time 🙂
Mailchimp is looking into what happened. And they promised to get back to me. Anyone wants to bet they blow me off? If this happens again I am killing Mailchimp and might as well continue cutting down the costs of running this blog before its eventual demise it appears #noclicks #losingsubscribers #coffeesdontcoverMailchimp #wtf #phucktariffs
Hi George,
Never got the email and yes, I depend on it to know when the new post is out. Left Naples for Palermo as of today. 5 days here and have a restaurant reservation for Wednesday that I am looking forward to. Not that big a distance of travel, though I did go Naples to Rome to Palermo, but a travel day is a full day, no matter what, in my opinion. 10PM here and just finished reading through once and will return when I have time for some of the articles.
But, HEY! That Graph/post of State taxes is nuts. According to that Washington State has 7% state income tax. We do not have an income tax! The whole thing is suspect to me now.
That Dear Farangs thing is hilarious! Thanks for that one.
I didn’t know about the unofficial rule about Cap 1 cards as I got the Venture X when I already had two poorly used consumer cards from them. Odd! Been using that card, my Citi Strat card (the $95 one) and my Chase Sapphire Preferred on the trip. Didn’t even bother bringing an Amex because a lot of places turn their noses up at them.
47 more days to go, it’s an adventure!
Will keep the every Friday post going until it dies. If the Mailchimp tech glitz happens again I am out so you will have to come here directly. And if you quit then this surely dies 🙂
There is an asterisk on Washington’s 7% tax or it should have been more obvious. Only applies to huge cats who are taxed on their capital gains only.
Have lots of material in the draft for the Friday post already. May become the longest post ever.
Hiya!
I won’t quit you, not to worry! HEY! Just received the email with the blog post. No idea if you re-sent it or it just finally came in. Right at 2pm here in Palermo, Sicily. WAY rainy and windy cold day here too. They’re predicting possible SNOW in Italy as far south as possibly outside of Rome! Crazy weather!
Thanks for the explanation on the tax thing. I didn’t see an asterisk, my bad.
Oh, I guess Mailchimp support did it. I guess I am going to keep giving them $31 per month then. I wonder what happened on Friday and hope we get back to normal. As in the email going out after each post.
I walked 2 miles in the morning and froze my buns off here in Ann Arbor.
The site certainly did NOT make the asterisk very clear. At all. It was very misleading for sure unless you dug deeper. Maybe I should have skipped that one. Going to not click on the ads then to punish the clowns running this site 🙂
Quarterly work around here, glad I prepared at least half of the Friday post draft already, phew!
Hey Buzz,
I received two emails with last Fridays post. One today and one yesterday.
I thought for sure you had pulled the plug and I was looking forward to some peace and quiet on Friday mornings…haha.
Thank you for the post and the updates regarding Thailand all of you.. I too am interested in medical tourism and have never been to SE Asia.
Pretty sure the Final Fork will only see top seeds from here on out, another great sport stuck like a pig. Time to take up surfing I suppose.
Go Larissa, have a great week!
Thanks for letting me know about the emails. So, it looks like Mailchimp did fix it and sent it out. Better late than never I guess. The first of the emails was mine, so sorry about getting double. You know TBB does not spam. You hear that Derek? A Derek unsubscribed recently, his loss I guess.
Yeah, how boring is that, four #1 seeds, zzzzzzzz.
Wife applied for the 80k United Explorer card using my links here:
https://yourbestcreditcards.com/united-revamps-credit-card-lineup-in-a-big-way-heres-whats-new/?ccid=1085
Not instant approval, in review. I see emails for credit checks next. Waiting…
Liberation Day today….smh, wtf are we living through?
In the meantime, hope the country survives this shitshow.
https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/why-we-keep-going
TBB team will do its best to keep going. Because the country needs TBB. For free. Or whatever.
RIP Val Kilmer.
Huge post tomorrow. And I have not even mentioned anything about the delusional Tariff man holding the nuclear codes. So, do I go political, I mean, it is hard to resist:
https://bsky.app/profile/feeonlyplanner.bsky.social/post/3llvsmehiis2w
MAGA is full of morons led by a delusional dotard. In case you have not figured it out yet.
American votes voted for this shit. Elections have consequences. Self inflicting stupidity omg.
Agreed. People voted for this shit, they own it.
My portfolio tanked big time like everyone’s I bet. I have the luxury to be looking at a 20-25 year horizon to recover.
But I hope that the seniors and the other rich morons who voted for him get screwed for good. The stable genius and the Republican party have never been about helping their constituents.
Huge 100,000 point offer on the card all four of us in my household have and keep from my favorite bank – literally the offer of the year in my opinion, even better than the 75k Capital One Venture X!
You know which card is this you guys.
https://travelbloggerbuzz.com/credit-cards/
Sorry about the cryptic pumping, no wonder this site can’t spare a cc sale lately, sad lol.
Yeah, small bloggers have to do all this cryptic crap while big time pumpers can basically do whatever they want….because, VOLUME smh.