TRAVEL
Everest. Time lapse Vimeo Video. Maybe the best I EVER Posted. Seriously! Found at The Adventure Blog.
Antarctica: A Year in Ice. MUST CLICK. Just Click it, WOW!
Murchison Falls, Nile River, Uganda. By Matador Network. Wow!
So, you want to go to Thailand? By Very Good Points. I saved this into my Evernote for future reference.
The Cure for a Long Layover: Transit Tours at Six International Airports. By Jaunted. Nice list to have with info about the tours. Amsterdam, Seoul, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Singapore, Istanbul.
Big Southwest Airlines Sale! Good time to buy plane tickets as other airlines are matching!
I am absolutely loving the blog posts from Afghanistan from Matthew on live and let’s fly at Upgrd. Up next: Kabul and TV Tower Hill and Darul Aman Palace
MILES/POINTS
Oh oh, LAN started charging fuel surcharges. They appear isolated (Mexico City) and tiny but…this could be the start. By the Flight Deal.
Check out this Flyer Talk thread about a United card with 50k signing bonus, 10k after $25k spend and just $2k minimum spend. Read the first post #1 and the text in bold font. Ok, here it is the text in bold font:
I went to the united site, clicked link for united explorer business, got landing page for 30K offer, clicked tab for Mileageplus Club business card got offer for $0 first year, clicked tab back to explorer business and boom 50K offer W/2K spend in 3months + the 10K after 25K.”
Some people log into their united mileage account and find the 50k offer. YMMV
I expect now most bloggers will be cheering about this amazing offer…Surrrre. Don’t hold your breath, no dinero for them!
BLOG BUZZ
In Milevalue‘s posts I just go right to the end of the post and read the short summary and duck the obligatory credit card(s) right above it.
I wonder how many minutes Delta Points takes to write his brief blog posts! And, you heard it there first, make sure you get a confirmed seat if you get the bump!!
Drew Macomber is on a prolific writing spree. He now even wrote for Frugal Travel Guy. Is he becoming Jason Steele II or what? And then we get Howie write about how much he loves his Chase and SPG cards. We are talking about some deep stuff here folks!
We Fly Free has a credit card dump post. Amazingly, no Chase cards! I wonder why!
Here we go. The Southwest 50k points Chase credit card offers are back. Oh boy…watch to read how amazing they are!
ON MY MIND/STUPID TECH NOOB QUESTIONS!
I think I managed to install that Akismet spam software!
I am too busy keeping up with the blogs and everything else so I will be asking total noob techie questions to avoid adding more time/money to the web designer because I am already deep in the hole!
So please answer them in the comments if you do not mind, I definitely appreciate it:
My theme needs to be updated. If I do will I lose my stuff?:-) Is it pretty safe to just update the theme and the Jet Pack…No idea what the jet pack is or does? In general, I can just find the plugins I want to try, install them and my site will not be affected? (go offline, wipe out data, you know catastrophic stuff!).
I uploaded all the pics from my Mega Trip last year. How do I enter ALL of them into my post? I did not see any other way other than uploading one by one! This can’t be right. Are there plugins for this purpose too?
In WordPress Settings I see WordPress Address AND Site Address URLs to be: https://travelbloggerbuzz.com Can I just add the www in front of them and NOTHING will be affected? I like to see the www showing on my blog URL!!!
Next up is that anti spam thing…
ODDZ & ENDZ
The Most Epic Supercell Thunderstorm Footage. by Twisted Sifter. Seriously. Watch the video. Here is a teaser:
Best street art in 2012 (HT: Travel Summary). Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think you will be more enriched and a better human being after looking at this incredible art!
Buzz it up!
For Akismet, you can just sign up for an account there (or on wordpress.com, I can’t recall). Then use the API on your site. It does a pretty good job filtering out spam. It will make your life MUCH easier. Let me know if you want me to take a look at it.
As far as updating the theme, you wont lose your content. However, if you made any customizations to the theme (colors, layout, header image, etc.), you will lose those. They will go back to what is set in the theme.
I must warn you against the hosting that is GoDaddy. I supposed that is neither here nor there.
Also, I recommend you follow @tribewp on twitter. He is quite responsive and is VERY knowledgeable about wordpress.
By the way, go to Appearance >> Widgets and get rid of the Meta box on the right sidebar. It doesn’t serve much purpose. Getting rid of it will make it more secure.
Done. Many thanks!
Thanks!
I managed to figure out Akismet and it has already caught 9 spam comments!!!! Wow, awesome!
I need to ask the web designer then if she did customizations to the theme…I am afraid I may have become a “hostage” and she charges by the hour…This is becoming a waterloo only some shiny Chase Ink Bold affiliate links can solve:-) Kidding….it took me an hour to figure out Akismet how am I going to deal with all them links and then becoming their bitch? 🙂
I am at GoDaddy. Been in there a few times. The designer handled the migration stuff and all. I would not know where to move to anyway. I am staying, don’t need more headaches for now:-)
Added @tribewp
Don’t ask the developer. Save your money, or add an affiliate link or two 😉
There are ways to ensure your customizations are easily redone, if there are any. Email or DM me a link to the theme’s website. I’ll see what’s different with yours.
Oh no, GoDaddy sucks, they don’t use CPanel. I got stuck with them for my first website (FAF) and I can’t even move it because of their proprietary web designer thingy. Changing a theme is easy, you can search a whole bunch of them and install it with one click. My first theme was a pre-made one, now I have a custom header with basic black to keep it simple. Widgets are great for passive advertising. I never get comment spam, but I get tons of trackback spam which the public never sees because it goes to a moderation queue. I’ve been adding the IP of the spammers to IP Deny in CPanel.
No idea what CPanel is:-)
I am terrified of having anything to do to change web hosting providers. So…I am staying. There is so much I need to learn and do this is not anywhere in the top of my list.
LOVE Akismet…since last night I see almost 80 spam comments have been added to Spam and NONE has made it onto here. Awesome!!
If you are nervy about losing stuff, sign up for Vaultpress (part of Jetpack). Costs $15 per month but your site is backed up (not on GoDaddy, but by the people who own WordPress) minute by minute.
A fortnight ago I was (stupidly) trying to edit the Head for Points theme by editing the deep code. I messed it up. The site went down. I logged in to VaultPress and it AUTOMATICALLY reinstalled the theme code from 10 minutes earlier at GoDaddy. Site was back up in 10 minutes.
PS. Oddly, for a UK blog, GoDaddy has proved better than its reputation suggests. Perhaps because my traffic spike is UK mornings when the US is asleep.
I managed to figure out Akismet and LOVE IT!!!!Thank you for making me stick with it:-)
Thanks for Vaultpress. I know I should do it but am not going to lose more money at this point.
Staying with GoDaddy…for better or worse.
This has been a great learning experience for sure! I enjoy learning new stuff.
Interesting — Loyalty Traveler is running a giveaway with National Car Rental, and he gets to keep a similar prize for himself. Last month View from the Wing ran the exact same prize giveaway and Gary gave away BOTH sets of prizes.
LT has no recurring credit card post as VFTW. Meaning—>VFTW can sure afford to give away prizes and Rocketmiles signon miles. I have no idea why other credit card pushing bloggers do not do the same for their readers! Heck, they (bloggers presenting) should be paying the seminar fees for all who attend these gatherings for crying out loud as they have a free reign over them AND as a thank you to them for feeding them so good (Milan, etc.).
I am thinking if I ever go down that route I would rebate at least HALF back to my readers. If I ever meet a reader who got a credit card from my site I will buy him/her dinner (not just cheap coffee) as a sincere thanks!
No, not for charity. Half back to you guys (not sure how….maybe buy Vanilla Reload cards, load them up and give them away as a prize or something like that) and YOU can give to your heart’s desire to charity.
And yes this is all speculation at this point. No plans. If I could just figure out how to get all my pics in the same blog post so I do not have to do them one by one & finally start writing my first trip report…that would be progress:-)
Frankly, if any big brand wants to promote itself with a giveaway on my blog, then darn right I will want a similar prize for myself. If it was any good. Which National Car Rental wouldn’t be 🙂
Yeah…I am not going for it either. I actually did win a prize from National Rental half a year ago. Not even one spam made it through after Akismet, I owe you:-)
Well, I already did a CC sign up thru your site. So you owe me a dinner. Consider me the 1st of many.
You must be talking about Raffles’ site, not mine:-)
Well, and VFTW also has a JOB. Not like these bloggers who whine about how they “have to” pimp inferior offers in order to eat. :rolleyes:
I agree with your statement:-)
I think the Southwest cards are awesome and they are about to disappear so you MUST go click on them NOW:-)
Think you might enjoy this, George…
theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/06/yes-credit-cards-are-making-you-a-bad-person/276777/
*Disclaimer: Yes, it’s a link. No, I did not write the article. No, I do not have any relationship with The Atlantic.
Actually, I DID find and read the article this morning. I thought it would be excellent to use to take some shots:-) But after reading it I was not as enthusiastic about it.
Fascinating article indeed. This struck me the most: “credit cards exacerbate income inequality.” Which means while I am running off to wherever using my signup bonus, someone who is having trouble putting food on the table is paying more for it. Not a pretty picture. Considering the merchant pays a fee when I use my card, not nice to think they are taking it out of someone else’s pocket too.
The other thing that is interesting to me is this: I do not think that I spend more using a card. I would love to be part of an experiment to see. But if indeed I am correct, and not everyone responds to credit cards the way the studies indicate most do, how can people learn to use their cards more wisely? I was taught at a young age that credit cards are fine, but only if you pay all balances off in full every month and never do a cash advance. Is it just upbringing? Or something else?
Since I think our cash-less economy is here to stay, it would be good to have some ways to help people manage their “cash” better.
“But after reading it I was not as enthusiastic about it.” – why not?
BTW, you are in A2 and I am in PDX – where is it 6:06PM? Where WordPress is?
Testing new time setting. Fixed, thanks!
This is a VERY deep/complicated subject. The article was too short; I thought it started out well but the strength of the (few) arguments it made were just not that strong. Most importantly, I couldn’t use any of them to really take a good crack against some card pushing blogger:-)
Upbringing is a HUGE factor in how adults handle money! A lot of how you act around money comes from those deep ingrained messages we received growing up. My parents are ridiculous savers and the mantra “You must save because you just never know what the future holds and you just need to be ready” has been ingrained to my psyche. Sometimes so much I feel like (and do) go on a mega travel spend spree….using miles/points to justify not paying out of pocket. My mother thinks I am a mega genius and so so proud of me:-)
Buzz it’s me, dude! Remember me? http://youtu.be/nZcRU0Op5P4 How you doin man? Talk about big testicles, that dude Mathew has em. Why on earth is he in Kabul, it’s a war zone. My nephew was there only 6 weeks before he stepped on a landmine (survived, but badly wounded this year).They ain’t got a Mcdonalds there or nutin. It is some of the most fascinating stuff I have ever read in these hallowed halls of travel blog writers. But as I’m reading it I’m thinking is he a TV war correspondent or just out of his f***ing mind?
Dude Noob Traveler is hot on your heels in the ratings. How bout pictures of Kate Upton or You need to have some contest swag. I will donate a gently, used only once, Brute soap on a rope to your site for your first (dead) giveaway. Ribs.
Whatz up Charlie? I discovered this Korean place in Ann Arbor it makes the best wingz I have had so life is great! That is what went through my mind about this guy in Afghanistan what is he thinking??? Sorry about your nephew! Thank you for keeping a tab on my ratings:-) Thanks for donating brute soap, it will sure be a hot item that will skyrocket my ratings!
Wingz
C’mon gpapadop. On DD Forums (and several times on the main site) there’s been talk about offer matching to 55K+$50 cash back for $1K spend on UA Consumer and 50K+$50 cash back for $1K spend on UA business for several years already. Easy as pie.
And of course Dan doesn’t tell people they can straight up apply for 55k, he tells them to use his link and then ask to be matched to 55k. ‘Cuz he gots to get paid.
Actually:
1. There is no link I’m aware of to get the 55K+$50 cash back even though they are perfectly willing to match to that offer within just hours of asking for it.
2. I have tried and have never been able to replicate the 50K and 55K offers on my account. Why drive people crazy to replicate it when it’s perfectly easy to get matched to an even better offer than the one they can struggle to replicate?
I am the only one not getting paid around here:-)
Great news – now that MommyPoints husband is joining the churning ranks, she can post his “churns” too
It’s long been a blogger affiliate-pimping staple to make sure to let us know what they applied for every 90 days (and being kind enough to provide plenty of links too)…. it’s the 4 easiest filler posts they’ll have all year
Now she can post the fillers every 45 days
Or do you think she goes the MMS/Emily route, where they both apply the same day and he just provides double the links?
How much longer until the daughter is 18 by the way? With 3 churners, that means she can pump out the “here’s the latest churn results” once every month
Imagine how much filler potential Lucky is losing out on by being single
I am pretty confident that the churning hobby will not be around when MP’s daughter turns 18:-)
Yeah I know bloggers telling us all what cards they churned & conveniently providing us the links is getting a bit tiring… I roll my eyes.
I was actually taken aback a bit by the revelation of the B word. Gutsy post.
My son is 2.5 years from turning 18. Heads up:-)
Like it, love it, hate it, but it will always be 100% real on my site. Our real life (or at least his) included both the D word and the B word, and no real way to explain his delayed apps without including the real deal.
Though I know it wasn’t a real question, not sure if we will churn on the same days or not. I suspect not since spreading them out would help with spending requirements. We’ll see.
I also don’t think that the game will be the same in 15+ years, but I bet rewards cards are still around in some form.
MP, keeping it real. I like it.
Looking at the big picture, will you (and all other bloggers who post churning details) be blogging about the subject if it was not for the affiliate income? Will you even be blogging about miles/points? I know you all got into it to help “friends and family fly for free”:-)
The mega cc money is a fairly new phenomenon so…don’t go crazy with it because it may not last!
Credit where credit is due. This is good, and you too noticed. http://romsdeals.com/2013/06/12/chase-fairmont-visa-signature-card-2-free-nights-waived-annual-fee/
Not noticed? Who HASN’T posted it?
That is already sitting in my post for tomorrow! Harvson3 we think so much alike is scary!
Well I started it not knowing there was any possibility of cc or other income, so I imagine I would keep going even if it wasn’t there. However, it obviously couldn’t be as much of a focus if it were purely a hobby.
Obviously:-)
I think LOTS of bloggers started aiming FOR that and they pretend they are doing it to “help friends and family travel for free”. It’s quite comical and sad to watch.
You do a good job in your niche and it is needed. Just hammer it. Meaning with good content and not so much aff links. Yeah…i know the pressure and all that….Just don’t become a ________
[fill in the blank…I better watch it]