We learn about the super sucky IHG Rewards promo, dissect the way online shopping portals work, think harder about the future of flying, visit Detroit, marvel looking at the volcanic eruption in Chile, we dream about changes in credit card practices, learn how brokers’ fees suck your blood and lots more.
You like my blog? Get your mother in law to read it and encourage her and her family to totally abuse my links! Having $0 days is no fun at all #truth.
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“Share Forever” is the new IHG Rewards hotel promotion and it absolutely blows even more than you expected. You can check yourself to confirm it does blow I guess.
Family Travel for Real Life 3 Conference: Speakers are now set.
I absolutely love this picture found at Twisted Sifter, WOW!
Rapid Travel Chai‘s presentation on Extreme Travel. Next FTU price of admission to learn how to travel for Free will only set you back $249. Who said it is to learn for free hey?
How to get a 50k Gold Delta SkyMiles offer (personal and business) available through 5/31 – MileCards Interesting offers if you are into these miles (not recommended for obvious reasons…getting Skymiles that is but hey they are free for real this way if you know what you are doing. I know you know what you are doing because you read TBB #wink).
Behind the Scenes Look at Online Shopping Portals [Interview] – Doctor of Credit Wow, great interview! If you want to learn about how these portals work that is!
Well, that was surprising. After a long stretch of no posting, Mr. Pickles broke away from First2Board to go solo. Why did he leave F2B? Discuss in the comments. Wouldn’t you rather discuss stuff like that instead of another lame question like in so many other blogs? 🙂
10 Reasons Why Young People Should NOT Travel – #TravelMore This is absolutely hilarious, must read!
The Future of Flying – Financial Times Byline: “Air travel is a modern paradox: hugely popular yet extremely damaging to the planet. Is there a solution?” I thought this was fascinating and thought provoking. If I was mileage running I would feel somewhat embarrassed, the environmental impact is very high with no let up in sight!
Tough, Cheap, and Real, Detroit Is Cool Again – National Geographic The video/visual/drony images here are way too cool, wow!
50 Pictures That Will Make You Fall In Love With Earth All Over Again Love these as much as plastic salesmen love Prestige credit card clicks #hint #gracias #ucandoeeitlol
The most breathtaking natural wonder in every state Very interesting list, do you agree with your state? This is a typical stupid question of a pumping blogger to initiate some interaction in their blog while they go prepare another post showing how XXX or YYY or ZZZ credit card is the greatest card out there and you need to just click it, hurry!!!
15+ Breathtaking Pics Of Volcano Eruption In Chile That Forced 4,000 To Evacuate – Bored Panda WOW!!!! And the video at Twisted Sifter is just sick!
Against Credit Cards – The Atlantic There is some really deep discussion here on the scourge of credit cards for most people (probably not the readers of this blog). No doubt you spend more compared to instead paying cash, no doubt. But DOUBLE? Wow! Also some interesting ideas in the end of the article of changing the swipe experience, as in having the credit card change color/turn darker as you approach your credit limit. Article mentions this will require the cooperation of the credit card issuers, well good luck with that!
5 Mental Habits That Make Investors Rich – Money Great read! If you are a sociopath I may have a referral for you lol.
How To Spot And Dump Broker Fees – Forbes Beware out there, blood suckers in pumping mode are out to eat what they kill…well, don’t get killed!
Interesting graph of how much doctors make:
Had lunch with old friend yesterday. After catching up he asked why in the world I am keeping the blog. I responded: “Because I am an idiot”.
I was bored so I applied and was approved for the Citibank Premier Card for 50,000 Thank you Points for a $3k minimum spend for no annual fee in the first year. Could mean $500 in gift cards or $625 in airfare. For newbies: This is FREE money!
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Stephen Curry for MVP
I am glad I caught the mega comeback, wow! Every time I watch this guy he amazes me! You look at him and he looks like he could be the ball boy of the team. The final shot to tie the game should be a highlight. MVP no doubt. Not sure they have enough of a team to make it all the way but should be exciting to watch. West is just brutal.
Third?
I got a targeted 60K miles/5K MQM offer for the DL Platinum Amex the other day. I’ve had the personal and business versions of this card in the past. According to the T+Cs, I could get the business again but not the personal. I’m kinda on the fence – on the one hand, I’ve had Diamond and Platinum status for many years since I live in a (now shell of a) hub. I think they run their operations well and they’ve taken care of me. My DL experience has been better than on the other domestic carriers (and I also have *A gold status). On the other hand, I have basically written them off due to all the recent SkyMiles changes and thus don’t have much interest in accruing SkyMiles anymore. I still have a little bit of a balance and the 60K potentially would get me to a further destination, but I don’t have an immediate use. So why go through the spending effort only to let the miles sit and potentially devalue…especially since they’ve pulled the award chart and can’t be trusted. Decisions, decisions.
Your thought process is very similar to mine (excluding DL status since 2013)!
I got a targeted offer for a Delta Skymiles Amex and they did not honor it after I completed the spend. I mean they honored the part about waiving the annual fee and giving me $50 immediately to sign up for the card on Delta’s site. But after I met the spend, they said since I’d previously had a Delta Amex they wouldn’t award the miles. I really wouldn’t waste much time with these offers even if they are targeted. I pointed out that they had sent the offer specifically to me when I was shopping on their site and said at that time that I qualified, and I eventually even filed a federal complaint with whatever credit card commission it is, but they never did honor it. They really can’t be trusted in more ways than one. I wouldn’t assume you would get the miles so if you have no use for the miles — and 60K miles is just not a lot for Delta — then maybe your credit should go elsewhere. YMMV but…
Thanks for the datapoint… I think I’m gonna pass this time. Too much hassle for questionable benefit from DL. Besides, there are cool Citi offers seemingly popping up every couple of days! Amex needs to regain their mojo and give us a SPG 50K bonus or something.
I was actually surprised seeing some really smart comments to that Atlantic article. Not usually the case when random people talk about plastic.
Yeah, very true. The dumbest comments appear at Yahoo articles! I am not saying anything about miles/points blogs because I am trying to be positive lol
Your friend most have read the post that things were changing around here, yet….
What?
Thanks for the plug George. Glad you enjoyed it!
I am running a special, selling two mentions for the price of one….invoice in your inbox hehe #whore #salesmachine #outofcoffee
Anyone see the NY Times today on credit cards. In the travel section, the reporter basically turned over her column to Brian (TPG), and Gary (VFTW). I was hoping to read something I didn’t know (to borrow the term from Chris Matthews). I guess the reporter was writing to the 99%, and not the 1% of us that read TBB. 😉
I was very disappointed with that article. I went off on them (author and fellow NYT collleague who retweeted it who I highly respect and should know better) because I could not control myself. It probably cost me any future quotes in NYT but, darn it, it made me feel so much better unleashing the wrath at them and falling for this crap!
Link?
From the first page of the NY Times Travel section… http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/26/travel/finding-the-right-credit-card-no-matter-how-much-you-travel.html?ref=travel&_r=0
Anyone in or near to Detroit in the next month or so should go see the exhibition which covers the murals Diego Rivera did there. The show also covers Diego’s interactions with Henry Ford. Good stuff.
Thanks for the suggestion. Where is it at? Oh wait I can use google to find out.
Nice post, George. I liked all the stuff out there. Keep it rocking 🙂
Thanks….trying to stay alive in this blogging world
I LOVED the movie Ex Machina. Total head trip, amazing acting performance by the mad genius dude and the robot. I am still affected by it. Technology, its future, machines, robots, the rise of AI, are we digging our own graves, stuff like that. There is a gorgeous Asian robot in there too, the scene where she starts dancing with the main dude who looks like Hardin is all the money. Love these science fiction theme movies. Wow. Ymmv.