Let’s take a wild ride through some Mile Madness lessons, we talk about the latest happenings in the blogosphere, learn how to extend our United miles and get Shoprunner for free, save a crapload of money by making a run for the border, we go for a trip with hippies in Afghanistan and ten places where cars are not allowed and we end it with a collection of some really funny gif’s.
TBB Blog Mission: To Entertain. Educate. Inspire. In That Order
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Saverocity wrote a recap of the first week “The Secrets #milemadness” that had some great looking graphs. I am still not too excited about this #milemadness tournament. Not adding the time factor is a very important piece; in my book, most important! But I think a very good job is being done and certainly the store is not being given away. Most importantly, I think there is a good deal of needed education that is administered in a fair way. I loved reader Livvy’s comment which pretty much captures the essence of manufactured spending which represents THE game and where it is all moving now. How are you going to get your miles, mileage runs? buuahahhahhahhaha!
“the key a-hah concepts: 1) net 1% return equals 10 dollars per thousand, 2) manufactured spend does not (for the most part) result in taxable income, 3) this game is aided by access to lots of disposable cash. Through that lens, I was able to much more quickly pick up on the value of different techniques and instruments, and how they fit together with my comfort level and ability to invest time. Ps. I would find #milemadness more useful if expressed in terms of $ per hour. I’ve sold on ebay and amazon. Not a piece of cake money or time wise. And technically…I believe the profits from online sales are taxable.”
Frequent Miler has a bit of a summary about the “Good stuff gleaned from #milemadness“. Reading about all these different add on type of loyalty programs, I could not help but wonder if the marketplace is being a little, you know, burdened with loyalty scheme overload. 🙂
Plink had no Amazon gift cards available to cash out as rewards. And no more Staples. So I need one more transaction and then will cash out for a gift card and then leave as I don’t think this one has legs; besides, I do not like giving them my Chase banking info! Can someone please post when they are back in stock, thanks! You know I really appreciate it!
I thought about going through the motion of setting up a Hotel Tonight account and then pimping it here but I felt a little slimy. I checked it out a few times and felt that prices were too high. Plus, I have plenty of points around so why pay or pump something I may never use myself? Should I go through the motions, is this a good company to deal with? I may be stranded somewhere someday. Or just go help Mile Nerd.
Like one day I hope to use my Uber credits! Oh wait, if you go to my Referral links page and sign up for Uber with my referral link you get $20 free and then you can add promo Hipmunk for another $25 ( enter it in the Promotions page). This promotion ends May 1st I believe so make sure you can ride before then, thank you! Email me if you need help.
Double points on Amtrak trips between March 17 – May 17, register here. I signed us up, all four of us. Probably not going to use but ya never know, it’s a habit.
Milenomics shows how to extend your United miles for free.
Miles Abound with one of the “deepest” blog posts ever: “My thoughts on the new Hawaiian Airlines credit card“.
In earth shattering news, Amazon is increasing the price of Amazon Prime by $20.
In more disturbing news, Loyalty Traveler wrote “Marriott Rewards Insiders Rumor on Program Changes“. What is that? Oh my gosh! Elite Status on hotel spend? Delta disease is spreading and some “experts” think this is not different this time. You have been warned here!
There was a lot of noise about how the US Airways Dividend Miles will be left alone and members will be allowed to earn and redeem on about 12 Star Alliance partners after March 31st. All due to this article from some Australian publication. Maybe it is no rush to burn the US miles on that infamous 90k on Business Class to Asia trip! I am not so sure. Why is this happening? It is probably because it is too early to combine the two systems? (most likely). Or is it because Parker has a super secret team assembled in a bunker working feverishly on a brand NEW loyalty program that will be compatible with Delta? We shall find out by June I am guessing.
I cancelled Mrs. TBB’s US Air card (after getting the 10k anniversary miles of course) and the Barclays Retention Dept dude wanted to downgrade to the Arrival card for, wait for it, 1k Arrival points! I rephrased it like this: “So, if I apply for the Arrival card directly I can get 40,000 points but if you downgrade my US Air to the Arrival card I can get 1,000 points. Do you think I am an idiot or you are just messing with me?”. Well, not exactly the same language but you get the idea 🙂
PFDigest is showing you two ways to get Shoprunner for free for a year!
THIS is how you save money on Dental Care! If you live close to Mexico that is. Pretty funny stuff from Seat31b with “Discount Dental Dash in Los Algodones, MEXICO“. Has potential 🙂 Or is this an indictment of our health care system or what?
The longer the search goes on about the Malaysian Airlines plane the more I believe my brother who keeps saying it was abducted by spaceships! Unbelievable story, I don’t know what to think anymore!
13 Things To Remember When Life Gets Rough. By Bored Daddy. Time for some inspiration, it is part of the mission you know!
An Impressive Display Of Wingsuit Flying In The Alps Video. At The Adventure Blog. Wow!
5 Things That Stop You From Getting Rich. At Wise Bread. I think these are right on target.
10 Magical Places Where There Are No Cars. By Bored Daddy. I see one at Michigan and one in Greece, hooray!
Road Trip to Afghanistan: Snapshots from the Lost Hippie Trail. By Messy Nessy Chick. Dudes tripping back in the 60s!
Ok, let’s have some fun with some gifs found here at “37 People Who Failed So Spectacularly They Almost Won“. At Buzzfeed.
Above all you guys:
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George
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To be first…or not to be first? That is the question
Time will be included from this week, I think it was the biggest oversight from week 1.
Third!
I grew up on the Mexican border in the 70s and my Mom had a bunch of orthodontic work done in Sonora. One of my early memories is her coming home with various colored threads binding her braces looking like a metal mouthed pinata.
A thought: what is an airline mile (or hotel point) worth? This question came up again recently when I was trying to decide whether to buy Amex GCs with a SPG card or the Barclays Arrival.
I entered the search term “what are starpoints worth?” and saw the top hits by all the pitchmen (aside from Summer and maybe Stacy, the big players are all men). The value range is big, or even unstated (see, e.g., the 25-part series in which Daraius paraphrases and re-posts text from spg.com and calls it a guide; what a mensch).
1. The “real” value of airline miles can be calculated: it’s the number of points required divided by the difference between the cheapest fare for a flight one would willingly take (schedule-wise) less the fees required. In this case, there are many alternative flights that can be found easily. To borrow from modern econometrics, one can locate the best matched flight and determine the costs foregone.
The above calculation requires that one not be chasing airline status and that one accepts that all airlines are in the flying aluminum (or composite) tube transport business.
The “real” value for hotel points are much different, insofar as hotels are much harder to match. In statistical terms, one might consider that hotels are hard to figure out per Neyman-Rubin causal model: one cannot simultaneously stay at two or more separate hotels in the same night. Hotel stays, I admit, are not all interchangeable: though they are in the bed-provisioning business, their models differ more than do those of flying tube companies.
So the benefits from hotel points could be calculated by dividing the number of points required for a given hotel in a given city by the price of the cheapest acceptable option. There is now greater uncertainty: estimates can vary by city, date, and one’s interpretation of the hotel reviews for options in that city.
2. The “fictional” value of miles lies in the creativity of the blogger/salesmen’s pitch. There’s a reason they all go to the Maldives, or Paris, or Singapore, and no one ever mentions airbnb or the hotels.com rebate options. They want to sell the idea that a mile or point is worth more than its “real” value.
If one pretends that there are grand differences in food re-heated in a convection oven at 30,000 feet, or that an hour-long massage in Bangkok is worth more than its $20 local cost, or that drinking alcohol in a bone-dry environment at altitude is smart, or that other amenities are significant, then one can forget the assumption that all airlines are in the metal/plastic tube transport business. One can then imagine that an airline mile is worth more than it is.
(As a side note, I cry a river for TPG every time he mentions that he’s tall and can’t be in coach. I’m sure no one who’s tall has ever traveled in coach and lived to tell the tale. That’s why Amsterdam-Kuala Lumpur flights are all-lie-flat-business-class flights.)
Likewise, one can stay at a fancy hotel and imagine it’s great value without considering that the same night’s quality sleep might be had at a lesser or non-chain hotel for a fraction of the discount rate for the five-star option. What’s the relative comparison, if the blogger were traveling on his or her own dime, spending real currency? Hush now, let’s not argue over things like that. If one never considers that staying with a local landlord or in an apartment let by a local might be a better immersion in the culture, and explains that luxury bathrooms and hotel lounge food are the height of sophistication, then one can dream fantasy values into the hotel points used.
Add romance to the equation and buyers’ calculations, and you can sell. It’s not a new technique.
3. In the past two years we’ve had devaluations at Hilton, United, Delta, Club Carlson, and now at Marriott, or so it’s rumored. I would submit that what we’re seeing is the devaluation in the “real” value of an airline mile or hotel point.
Planes are full, capacity is lower, yield is higher, and seats are fewer. Reward hotel rooms are harder to come by.
Now, to get from Ann Arbor to Cuzco requires a roundabout routing on less-convenient flights that might eat into vacation time. I don’t know how these inconveniences factor into the calculation, but they certainly don’t increase the “real” value of one’s miles.
I think there’s a gap between the real value of an airline mile, and what we might term the “fictional value” of an airline mile, as promoted by bloggers-cum-pitchmen/women.
There remains a divergence between what is promised and what is possible. The recent absurd suggestion by Howie at FTG to use Delta miles from Savannah to Fairbanks is a good example of this. Most consumers avoid frequent flier miles for all the reasons Capital One highlights in its ads: blackout dates, etc. Those obstacles aren’t decreasing.
The net effect of the devaluations are that spending for miles, whether via flying or credit card spending, is producing less value. It’s not an argument for a full stop; it’s an argument for a reconsideration and revaluation. It’s an argument for not believing salespeople/bloggers’ evaluation of the value of a mile/point.
Personally, I’m defaulting to valuing miles at around one cent, and UR points at 1.25 cents. MR points are also only worth about one cent, though I have few of those. I booked a recent domestic trip and got 1.38 cents of value for each UA mile, and felt that was about right.
The divergence is going larger, but the sale/pitch must go on.
What are the implications for the hobby/business and the businessmen/women? That remains as an exercise for the reader.
Postscript – Used the SPG card because it increased the likelihood that the GC purchase would be approved by Amex. Still don’t know the real value of a Starpoint, would estimate it at 1.25 cents.
Harvson3, that is one heck of a comment.
Nice analysis
RE: ” a roundabout routing on less-convenient flights that might eat into vacation time. I don’t know how these inconveniences factor into the calculation, but they certainly don’t increase the “real” value of one’s miles.”
Spot on! Just booked flights for my kid: one person coming back from Iberian Peninsula in late May or early June. Guess what? There were only TWO (low level) flights available on Star Alliance from ANY Star Alliance city in Spain in the period I looked. I tried every gateway, every carrier, etc. My kid will be flying a 4 segment flight to get home on one of these dates. I must have spent a total of 5-7 hours looking for this. So, not only an inconvenience for the flyer, but also for the booker.
Now that is points and miles blog post
My goodness! Couldn’t say it better myself. No, seriously. Couldn’t! 🙁 Please remind me why you’re not blogging, again?
As much as I respect FM, I’ve always felt that all that “fair pricing” mile/point stuff is “kinda sorta” far out. I said in my first book a while ago that anyone who enters the game should zcalculate their mile/point value at 1:100 and I did catch some flack for it. It might be more for airlines and less for hotels, but on average this thinking will work just fine and it will save you a lot of time and anguish trying to devise your travel strategy by squeezing the best possible mile/point value out of your travel.
Inevitably, there are a lot of artificial values that go into these calculations. As you rightfully note in your Cuzco example, our burning desire to squeeze as much value as we can out of the game can backfire and take away our valuable vacation time. The same goes about another burning desire: not only to get somewhere in premium class, but also get there on a desired plane and/or configuration. I think it’s insane, as it leads to all kinds of crazy routings, and bites into our vacation time even more. But then I’m not a true aviation geek, I guess.
On the other hand, what this game brings us is the ability to live the dream. All of a sudden, the world is your playground and we are not limited to annual trips to Vegas or Disney World. It’s completely unnecessary, so it is also an artificial value, but how can you possibly put a price tag on a dream?
Then again, living the dream means higher expenses anyway. Miles or no miles, traveling around the world even to cheaper countries will inevitably cost you more money than a weekend trip out of town paid with cash. The mere presense of all these variables makes it simply impossible to determine the cost of a mile with any degree of approximation or sanity. But isn’t it what makes this whole game so fascinating?
It’s been a while since I enjoyed a blog comment so much. Thanks!
Like hearing yourself blather much? Y a w n….
Indeed, indeed! Thanks, Harvson3 for sharing your insights! I vote for more Harvson and less Ingy.
The irony of valuation is that the wealthier you are, the more they are worth.
I have just used over 1m Amex points for 4 x Emirates A380 J seats from London to Dubai and 10 nights in a 130 sq m suite at Madinat Jumeirah over Easter. Rack rate of the suite is £14,000 ($23,000) for 10 nights.
What would you value that at? Here is the thing. I value the hotel room at £10,000 ($17,000) because I have actually paid £1,000 per night to stay there in the past, and would have paid that – albeit not £1,400 – had my wife insisted we stay there again.
Last Easter I did actually pay cash for J flights to Dubai in a BA sale.
I can genuinely say then that my redemption holiday has £14,000 ($23,000) of value. I would have paid £10k for the hotel and I would have paid £6k for the flights (I did pay £2k of tax to EK).
However, someone who would normally fly Economy and would not pay more than £150 per night for a beach resort over Easter would value my trip at SUBSTANTIALLY less – it would be a cash saving to them of under £3,000 ($5,000) – less the intrinsic benefits of flying J over Y and having a monster suite instead of a small room.
Interesting point, Raffles. I don’t have nearly as many MR points (current total: zero) or the same tastes, so I wouldn’t see the value if I were the purchaser. Another “de gustibus non est disputandum” angle to the hobby.
Out of curiosity, what are the things you enjoy most while on holiday in Dubai/at the Madinat Jumeirah?
We have family there so we would go away. However, for Brits with young kids, its a dream. Perfect weather outside the Summer, manageable flight times, flying east so jet lag easier on outbound, world class hotels, UK grocery and pharmacy chains there (key for kids.), zero crime, great healthcare if needed, multiple flights per day ( probably 15 per day ex UK), excellent beaches.
Maldives it ‘aint, but my 2 year old isnt up for that anyway.
That’s certainly true. However, in your case we encounter another variable, the time it took you to book the tickets you want. I can’t imagine that booking 4 J EK tickets was fast or easy. The reason why this is important is that due to your higher net worth, your time must be also more valuable.
Or, even if it didn’t take you all that long because due to your expertise, it might take a lot of time and efforts for someone not really familiar with the game. In which case, again, you’re an exception, not a rule.
The YQ outlay for your J tickets must’ve been considerable too, no? I have no idea what they would charge you from LHR, so maybe you could tell us.
What I’m saying is, that even in your case there is still more than meets the eye. Even though I agree with your point in general.
£2k YQ for 4 which I factored in to the calcs.
Ironically EK Flex seats in J from London are a diddle even at peak times. Only Saver is tricky but I did not book those.
Awesome comment. On my spreadsheet, all miles and points are assumed to be worth 1 cent until they are used. (No Hilton, IHG is the only one likely to be below 1c average but those are a very small percentage.)
Great comment. Couldn’t agree more. I have never really understood assigning value to points. For a person like myself who travels two to three times a year points are worth me not paying cash. If I get .5 cents or 3 cents out of them. I don’t care. The end result is still the same. Money saved.
Is this the most dishonest credit card pimping post ever, beyond anything that MV/TPG/FTG has ever written?
http://first2board.com/blog/star-alliance-credit-card/?
“The Miles & More World MasterCard is much more than a Lufthansa credit card, which comes to light in its bonus categories. You earn 2 award miles per $1 on tickets purchased directly from Miles & More integrated airline partners.
So, not only do you earn for Lufthansa tickets but also 10 other airlines. …Couple this with Lufthansa’s membership in the Star Alliance, and this card is a powerhouse.”
This card is a POWERHOUSE. Because it earns double miles on Air Dolomiti, Luxair, Lufthansa Private Jet, Lufthansa Regional, Croatia Airlines…
“Currently offering up to 35,000 miles with qualifying transactions linked to account opening, you are off to a running start for your first adventure. ”
I love the ingenuity here. “With qualifying transactions…” It’s a 20,000 mile signup bonus, plus 15,000 for BALANCE TRANSFERS. The word balance transfers never appears in the post. You have to go to the ad box and click to reveal details to see that you need to make a $15,000 balance transfer to earn 15,000 bonus miles. There’s no mention of the $450 fee for the balance transfer. To find this out you have to click on the application, and then click on the fine print for pricing and terms. Remember when First2Board existed to not pimp credit cards?
Give the blogger credit for leaving the cardholder review rating (1 out of 5) in the link/picture.
I think that must be provided through their affiliate company as part of a feed?
MMS is clearly on autopilot. An interview with a 6 week young blog. Who wouldn’t want to deflower that! Are we at the end of the blog wannabe bubble?
MMS: When did you start collecting miles and points
“I actually haven’t started collecting yet. Planning to start in a few months”
Hilarious, thanks for the laughs! I am sure pretty soon we will see this at this rate, lol.
Mommy Points wants you to know that today is the last day to register for Chase Freedoms Q1 5X bonus categories
But more importantly, albeit far less relevantly, Chase Sapphire Preferred [insert link], Chase Ink Bold [insert link] and Chase Ink Plus [insert link]
Apparently it’s not enough to find flimsy excuses to pimp the Chase cards on the first friday of every month. Need to find excuses every other Friday too
Why limit to Fridays? To quote the esteemed TBB, Try Bud Dry.
Short update from TBB
I have been busy trying to find a 25k award from Savannah to Fairbanks but inexplicably I either get zilch or 75k seats. Howie responded to get KVS and I am traumatized by the user friendliness of that software! Wonder how many newbies fell for that crappy advice (in my own opinion) ?
Seriously it has been a giant cluster phuck of a day w/ wifi connectivity problems in Dallas! Typing this from my cell phone as I am not able to get laptop to work its wifi. Major downer! I will try to catch up tomorrow with comments and emails. Thank you all for your support! Please do not respond to trolls! If u do not like the advice of a blog feel free to say so here without names and keep it abt the blog content!
I would gladly let all the higher traffic go to stop this troll from trolling here and embarrassing himself and hurting some of the other fine people who write at FTG.
Should I call Delta to see if they can find me a 25k award seat? Poor newbies being treated like this. Only THIS stuff makes me angry so I am going to get my massage at the Amex Centurion Lounge to get over it 🙂
See ya all tomorrow!
TBBon!
Ask for SVEN the masseuse, his hands are magical. Don’t know about the happy ending thing though.
“Embarrassing himself?” Your opinion, certainly not mine. I’m trying to provide a valuable service to the hobby by getting you to tone down the ranting and personal attacks. The numbers will take care of themselves and I think that if you put your best foot forward, which is humor and photography, you’d see your number skyrocket. Ranting and demeaning is so unnecessary. But if you think you need it, that is your choice. Sure does help your comments doesn’t it?
Your former site is a complete disgrace – nothing but an excuse to pimp, pimp, pimp. At least you can take comfort you’re not alone!
And why do you even care what anyone says/thinks about your former site? You “sold out” (in more ways than one) years ago…
Because I want it to succeed, like I want all small business men and woman to succeed. ‘I’m for little guy. The self made individual that takes risks and learns from his mistakes. I’m for offering the best offer, not pimping lower offers. I’m for George being a reasonable voice in the space offering positive constructive criticism in a reasonable manner when needed. I’m for Howie, Ariana, Brian, MommyPoints, Rene, Greg and almost all bloggers to do the next right thing for their readers.
And yes there are few that I wish I could hit up the head with a baseball bat and say, You can do better than that.
And yes for a short time to come I am still being compensated based on overall production, but at this late stage of the buyout, the numbers are insignificant at best and anything I do or say will not effect that payment.
And I’m for the “people” at IB that I’ve met and really enjoy working with. The corporation is a pain in the back side as most are. Let me deal with the folks on the 9th floor and let the 11th floor blow away in a twister. I’m for You, the little guy.
And for you Bull Durham fans “I’m for slow soft kisses, think Lee Harvey Oswald acted along and would outlaw the designated hitter”
I am as passionate about this space as any of you. Not for the money. That part is virtually over for me. And I strongly (as you can tell) disagree with George’s approach. This hobby gave us all so much and yet you guys sit here and piss and moan about it day in and day out.
I welcome anymore clearly substanitive discussions on the topic.
And Paul, lastly to your comments. I SOLD the site. I do not have the power to say what content is included nor the manner it is conveyed. That ended on January 20, 2012 and I got paid to give up that control. Period
Continuing on from yesterday’s civilized thread, I’d still like to see your response.
You said something just above that caught my eye : ” I wish I could hit up the head with a baseball bat and say, You can do better than that.”
Can you elaborate on who you are talking about, what they need to do better, and how you would approach them? Because here you are hinting at the fact that TBB is doing something useful but that you would do it differently. So, am I’m entirely serious and curious here, how would you do it? (How would you write TBB’s blog so that it is serving the purpose of critic, but “a la Rick”?) Remember, though, that a real critic will have to be able to stand up to vested interests that will fight back?
(I hope you take this little challenge.)
Sure try September 5th and return September 15th, 2014… 25K miles roundtrip and $10 on Delta
Instead of whining, it took five minutes to find it.
I’m not going anywhere George.
Oh, BTW, I found it on Delta.com SAV-FAI. No need for a phone rep. Maybe instead of just proclaiming your superiority and brilliance, you could start to show it?
The travel challenge was for five nights. You don’t have enough hotel points to make this work. Thus, this doesn’t meet your own parameters.
FAIL!
Try again.
Responding to George’s remark up thread he couldn’t find anything. Took me five minutes. there are 25k awards to Fairbanks! not the rant as portrayed.
Ummmm … Well either way, your travel challenge can’t be recreated (five nights using any dates), which is the point tbb is making
The parameters (5 nights) are established by the site. Love for you to find that, if you want a real challenge
Maybe not at this second but I’m sure a five night window has and will appear again in the future. I’m not going to debate the moment Howie wrote the post. But I will debate George indicating it is not possible. Simply not true. I found flights worth $1k according to another reader in minutes. If George thinks he can give better advice, I’m suggesting he do so. I’d love to learn something from George. I agree with the readers that the back and forth between us is getting tiring. Maybe we can get George to share some of his advice and knowledge of the hobby, not just criticism of others. George?
So… No?
So the parameters howie claimed as a challenge can’t be booked AT ALL (not just the dates he has)… but it may be “theoretically” possible based on the award chart?
That’s like giving advice for someone to buy a ton of lotto tickets, bc they can theoretically win a million. Meanwhile the real winner is the lotto ticket salesman (or CC pusher… Since the reader is left with worthless sky pesos)
George’s point was that the travel challenge was unbookable as recommended. Thanks for confirming that!
Comment on the MMS interview today:
Holly
Mar 14 – 4:01 pm
Can you please explain how to earn miles using Bluebird?
Ok, is it the guy’s wife or mother asking that? 🙂
First it was lying about the value of the LH card at First2Board, and deceiving readers about the signup bonus (not mentioning that a costly balance transfer was required to earn the full promised bonus), now it is this, they are getting really desperate it seems.
“Barclaycard Rewards MasterCard Is The Trophy Husband Card”
http://first2board.com/blog/barclaycard-rewards-mastercard
So who is blogger ‘Wallet Slot’ writing this insane content?
To add some levity, a comment about the Mexico dental plan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R70KSR-GCgs
@ The Sterling Traveler: Congrats, you are numero Uno. I don’t think it’s your first time!
@ Matt: Great to hear that you will be incorporating the “time” factor in the #milemadness!
@ Jay: You squeezed in for Bronze!
@ The Deal Mommy: Thanks for making me laugh…with this mental picture 🙂
>>>>>>> One of my early memories is her coming home with various colored threads binding her braces looking like a metal mouthed pinata.
@ harvson3: Your comment was probably the best TBB comment ever! MVP material. Thanks and should be required reading for all.
Your comment convinced me to get another massage in the airport after I have my free massage at the Thair First Class lounge in Bangkok 🙂 On a serious note, I think your comment was indeed brilliant and wholeheartedly agree especially with these comments I quote from you below:
>>>>>>>>>There remains a divergence between what is promised and what is possible. The recent absurd suggestion by Howie at FTG to use Delta miles from Savannah to Fairbanks is a good example of this. Most consumers avoid frequent flier miles for all the reasons Capital One highlights in its ads: blackout dates, etc. Those obstacles aren’t decreasing. The net effect of the devaluations are that spending for miles, whether via flying or credit card spending, is producing less value. It’s not an argument for a full stop; it’s an argument for a reconsideration and revaluation. It’s an argument for not believing salespeople/bloggers’ evaluation of the value of a mile/point.
Thank you for enhancing my blog! Your presence here is a true enhancement, unlike Delta’s 🙂
@ Nick and smittytabb and KennyB and Scott: I agree! [notice how I did not forget the 2nd b in smittytabb!]
@ StuckInTraffic: Great gif, loved that George!
@ bluecat: Yep, booking the “free” seats is definitely NOT getting easier! My family trip to Maui is a perfect case point for this! Barely managed to get 5 nights in Maui and the miles/points I spent were ridiculous and if we don’t make the tight connection in Honolulu we may not make it back for a while 🙂 This is the main reason I thought telling newbies to burn 25k Skypesos from Savannah to Fairbanks was completely irresponsible as they would pull their hair out to find the seats at their desired time…if at all! For 75k sure:-)
@ Andy: Your comments make a lot of sense too! No doubt the dream is part of the game (and the sell). As GL says, the “romance” of it all. Sure. On another note, I always avoided blogging about valuations. The reason is we are all different and have different backgrounds, current situations, goals and values. I guess it is a worthwhile exercise to put some “numbers” around this currency we all have. But, at the end, we do what makes sense for US and what makes US happy. So, to take this further, for me to go and burn 15k BA miles to fly to Dallas to spend the day there in the Centurion lounge, if you look at it from many views, is absurd. But I sure enjoyed myself, laptop wifi problems and all! It was worth it to ME! And that’s what should come first because, you know, we only live once! 🙂
@ Paul: You can yawn here
@ TWA44: Thanks and loved this! >>>>>>>I vote for more Harvson and less Ingy.
@ Raffes: Holy crap, that is a mega burn of points! I could and would never do that because I could never stop thinking how much further my points would get us a family of four! Which proves my point above: When it comes to burning, we go for what makes sense to US first and foremost. So…enjoy the hell out of your trip!
@StickyWicket and ABC: I have seen these posts and all I can say is WTF! Maybe AirDolomiti is indeed a powerhouse 🙂 This is the prime example of what drives me nuts and sometimes I lose it here! This Wallet Slot blog appears to be written by FTG Staff! It may skyrocket in record time in My Ignore list! Powerhouse my behind, ludicrous! I better stop there, my blood pressure is rising fast!
@ ABC and Anonymous: My gut feeling is MMS achieved some main financial goals, got a full time job again and now just pumps credit cards, giveaways, interviews of everyone and some multi parts of trip reports when he gets around to it. When I included it to the blogs I Ignore I had pushback from some readers about adding it. There has been no push back at all for a while. I like my lists!
@ Steve: I am nicer to Mommy Points because she is indeed a really nice person and responds very well to criticism. Medical bills are expensive and there is a lot of pain in that nasty knee injury. This content is done by all who want to keep Chase happy. It is part of the whole circus environment 🙁
@ Ramsey: I did not catch his name. It may have been SVEN, he looked Swedish to me. Anyways, he did a nice job I must say. No fluffy massage, sometimes I wanted to scream. I liked them better that way. But after that I had my hands done by the cute Thai lady, she also did a very good job I wanted to go back again and again 🙂
@ Anonymous and Paul: Please don’t. All it does is give another excuse for trolling. Thank you.
@ Jay: Thanks. To get newbies to be converted sites will say anything. To defend the practice of proposing to newbies to burn 25k Skypesos from Savannah to Fairbanks and getting them to actually find that ticket using delta dot bomb without pulling their hair out is, in my own opinion, totally absurd. Are there 25k awards? Yes maybe. Are they available at preferred times and without being totally exasperated to find them AND book them is beyond ludicrous! To respond with “use KVS” to newbies is, in my own opinion, well completely CRAP advice. If I was President, I will make that a felony. But I am not, I am just a non credible blogger who just blogs about some practices that I find to be CRAP in my own little blog! So much crap that the dishers of this crap believe wholeheartedly it is not crap and you are just angry or jealous or you have an agenda. Like Mile Nerd said once in his famous rant about, you know what I mean…
@ Carl: Maybe it was the cat? 🙂 Meow!
@ StickyWicket: New addition to F2B. First two blog posts a total pump job. Unbelievable actually. Bloggers should have a say of what is included in an aggregator blog. Perhaps the potential blogger write a few sample posts for other bloggers to review and vote in or out. Then again this type of blog would never make it. Will break the world record speed of making it to my “Ignore list”. Or maybe I should try AirDolomiti first? Who is it? Hmmm, see my comment above.
@ Spencer F: Lol
Air Dolimiti actually does a nice charcuterie plate.
Lol, that’s funny!
I’m so glad it’s my busy season. That forces me going cold turkey from reading the blogs, including one of my favorites, TBB.
I do get some travel e mails, so I’m able to cheat on going cold turkey. Just as an example, gleff is really killing me with all his links recently. What am I to think about this? Is the game (HT – Ingy) coming to a conclusion? Is there lots of competition for cc sign ups? Are bloggers just throwing as much as they can against the wall since nothing seems to working like it once was, since less people are clicking through?
Will the blogs revert to their original ways and just provide good information? I guess we need to stay tuned to see what happens.
And now, back to my busy season. See you all around April 1. PS, for those lucky enough to be reading, I’m going to be a Grandpa.
>>>>>>>>>>Will the blogs revert to their original ways and just provide good information?
Theoretically, it’s possible. Only if the banks stop paying so much per credit card app 😉
Congrats on becoming a grandpa!
There’s no money in providing good information. If they banks stop paying or drastically reduce aff monies, bloggers will stop blogging or atleast stop blogging as much.
Which may not be a bad thing… This space is full of bloggers. It could use some thinning out.
At my height of Siskel mode in my blog…I had made a prediction that once the banks stop paying the bloggers, over 90% of them will be gone. It may be 95% 🙂
I will be sure to let you know when Plink has Amazon or Walmart gift cards back in stock. I have $25 of rewards just sitting there, waiting… Buehler? Buehler? Buehler?
In the mean time, why don’t you set up a Shopkick account and start earning Kicks at Office Depot (I think this site might be owned by Chuck Norris): http://travelwithgrant.com/2014/03/13/office-depot-plink-shopkick-1-big-happy-family/
Never thought that this Shopkick was worth the trouble. Staples is very convenient to me. Office Depot is out of the way. I bookmarked it and if i find time to go ahead and do this, I will use your link. Thanks.
Thanks George, I agree that Staples is much more convenient, walking distance from home (walked over this morning). They are moving an Office Depot closer to my work, so this is great timing and I have a new Chase Ink Bold Visa coming this week too. Have a great weekend!
George, Gary must be reading because he posted yet another shill for more credit card apps. I’m flattered. 😉 Must be a slow news day.
Yeah I noticed that. Kind of disappointed…
Gary needs to put food on the table at home.
He has a full time job which probably compensates him pretty well. So the pumping job supplements his income…
Hey TBB, I don’t follow the following blog at all but this story caught my eye, having read your occasional comments about threatened lawsuits and posts by Matt about Saverocity’s recent experience with threatening letters from Capitol One.
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2014/03/11/mmm-receives-legal-threats-great-lawyer-wanted/
Isn’t it illegal to send letters in which the sender threatens the receiver with legal action when the receiver has done nothing illegal?
But it appears justice does sometimes take its natural course: the law firm that objected to one small comment which until then had been seen by a select few became the subject of a much broader campaign seen by thousands more. I expect they wish they’d never started it.
LOVED THIS, thanks for sending! The threats I have received have always mentioned “you may hear from the legal dept/laywers/etc”. It never escalated to that point, perhaps because they would laugh at the demands knowing full well that this is just a bunch of crap and bullying tactics.
I was never a big fan of MMM philosophy but I do like his blog, he does his own thing and really admire that. I try to do my own thing too here too 🙂
Thanks for taking the time to send. You made my Sunday morning!
So glad you found it of interest. I figured you probably wouldn’t agree with MMM’s financial philosophy. He does do his own thing!
I have house guests – gotta go!
Looks like more bloggers who would rather mislead reades than admit fault.
– I posted a comment at “Wallet Slot” at F2B in response to the Lufthansa “power house” card, saying that it seemed like a bad deal and asking how much you needed to spend for the “qualifying transactions” and the comment wasn’t approved 🙁
– DeltaPoints didn’t approve a comment pointing out that Alaska status matching isn’t a “shot across the bow” or a newsworthy development in the Battle for Seattle since Alaska has been doing status matches for Delta Medallions up to MVP Gold for years 🙁
That Wallet Slot should be renamed MyWallet Slut 🙂 I have more on this blog coming up. Or I could choose to remain silent and be all giggly and praise stuff. Making my Ignore list in the speed of light!
As far as the censoring in that blog, DP would like to remind you he does censoring proudly!
I have proof that what I do here improves the space to make it less pimpy than it has become.
Story at 11 or, what I mean, is next blog post 🙂
Thanks!
George, I plan on moving about $100 a week to an online “high-yield” savings account, but before I do all the research, I was hoping you can recommend a program for me. Any thoughts?
Ratebrain.com is a good website to keep track of rates.
I have had accounts at INGdirect which was bought by Capital One a few years ago. I did not move. Rate is no longer the highest but very competitive. Their website and ease of use is still the best I think. BUT they pull from 3 credit bureaus which is absurd!
I have also used allybank. They are all right. There are MANY others!
I am thinking of putting some money with Amex actually as I have seen them advertise one of these high-yield savings accounts lately too. Why? Get in bed with them even more to have another reason to avoid Financial Reviews 😉
I park my emergency cash with Bank Direct earning AA miles every month. I find bunch of AA miles is better score (non taxable) than the taxable interest earnings I am giving up. But it is capped now at $50k.
Hope this helps. I definitely do not recommend the Capital One account to people who practice cc churning religiously (like you) but in case you do I can refer 🙂 I am keeping my money there, I still love their website. Sometimes I do wonder about that bank though…
Thanks George, I’m looking into the Bank Direct program. It says “Refer someone who opens a BankDirect® Mileage Checking with Interest Account or Mileage Money Market Account, and both you and your referral earn 1,000 miles. Simply submit your friend for mileage credit through our referral template on the Manage Your Account section of your online banking account. Make sure you complete the referral form online, and your friend must submit the information accurately from the e-mail solicitation received. You may earn a life-time maximum of 10,000 AA Miles for program referrals.” Can you send me a referral link?
Never mind, it says the Mileage Checking with Interest account has a $12 monthly fee and the Mileage Money Market account has a $10 monthly fee (unless you deposit more than $10,000 at a time). Too pricey for me, sorry George.
Yeah, BankDirect had a mega devaluation too last year. Only up to $50k gets AA miles. They started the $12 fee for a few months and then they stopped charging my account, no I did not call them up to inquire about this. Could make sense for over $10k or $20k for some people. If less, not worth it. And dealing with them and the referrals is comical.
Wallet Slot is back this time with the Carnival MasterCard! “You are probably thinking, why would I put this in a slot in my wallet?”
No, in fact I would bet that ‘Wallet Slot’ DOESN’T have this card in their wallet. And they don’t care if you do, either. They just want you to click, apply, approve. Ka-ching!
http://first2board.com/blog/no-fee-credit-card/
Wow! That makes it a trifecta of pathetic pump jobs of blog posts out of the gate! Unbelievable. Welcome to my Ignore List WS! If I was a blogger at F2B I would NOT be a happy camper now. Lufthansa was a stretch….Carnival is unforgivable.
I need more coffee before I lose it here!
Not out of The Gate, my friend. You know better than that…
good catch…it took me a while to figure it out because…I am slow 🙂
Does anyone ever ask TPG and MMS a question that has nothing to do with a credit card??? And seriously, that book by MMS on paying for parking with the Arrival card – he could have stripped the whole answer away with this – NO!
Hey, I have mentioned this several times here! It is so conveeeeeeenient all the questions they get asked, aren’t they?
My favorite question to feature: “Should I get the Sapphire Preferred or the Ink Bold” – Somehow, the answers always tends to be “GET BOTH”. Now sub the card names with others and welcome to the circus.
Thank you to all for the support.
Two questions I would like to see asked: 1) how much per referral does the bank pay? 2) are you writing off the paid hotel stays, paid flights, and paid meal after you write a review of the hotel, airline, and restaurant in your blog? Can TPG and OMAT do this even if they spend more time on non-business activities when they go on their around the world trip.
Not going to happen 🙂
First?
You tried to be the first of the last but the TBB readers did not comply, sorry 🙂
Well, then — can I be last of the first?!?
You can be anyone you want in the TBB comments 🙂
First comment on the OMAAT post on Ben moving into hotels full time in 4 weeks:
March 16th, 2014 at 1:21 pm
Tom Farrelly said,
What I’d really like to know is what business you’re in that pays for all your flights and hotel stays. I’ve been getting your letter for some time now but have never seen that mentioned.
Bless him.
And I thought it was all due to Manufactured Spending, cough 🙂
It will be interesting to see how this one is answered!
I have been using Amex High Yield Savings for a while and it works well. They currently pay .8% APR which sounds horrible until you compare the alternatives.
I recenlty applied for a similar account with GE Capital Retail Bank, which pays .95% ar present.
The Bank Direct deal as last devalued became uneconomic to me for large balances. It may still be good for folks with higher tax brackets and/or lower AAdvantage account balances.
How do you like the Amex HY Savings? Is the website smooth? Does it come up with your credit cards or is it a whole separate login? I should get away from Capital One but I am really lazy and have gotten so used to the whole process. I only keep short term savings there (estimated taxes, retirement account contributions, property taxes, etc.).
The differences in the interest rates, at these levels, are insignificant.
I think the AA Bankdirect, up to 50k, is still a good deal. I know a guy who has earned millions of AA miles by holding LOTS of cash here (no, not Mr. Pickles).
Let us know at some point how you like GE Capital.
Thanks.
The Amex HY savings website seems ndependent of the credit cards, and doesn’t indicate any link to my Amex cards that I can see. Some say having a meaningful sum in an Amex HY Savings account will help in or help to avoid a financial review. I have nothing to add to that, either way. The website and the account both work great-no problems at all.
I found Capital One a rather whacky bunch to work with, both on the credit card and banking sides. Others like them.
Please note that there are two GE Capital banks. One is GE Capital Bank (HY pays .9% today), geared to commercial clients; there is also GE Capital Retail Bank, geared to retail customers (duh) which pays .95% today. The rate difference between Amex and GE is insignificant in real dollars but having both will allow for a choice down the road, and opens up another $500,000 of FDIC coverage for a couple.
This is great info, thank you!
I have been with INGdirect for many years now. I am still pissed off they sold to Capital One which is indeed a rather wacky bunch! Like I said, I have been lazy and the site still works flawlessly.
I think going with Amex can’t hurt. They may be wondering how come they have to deposit about $500 dollars in my Blue account (for now…building it up slowly I am not greedy) so seeing a chunk of money in a HY Savings account may help the cause of…leaving me alone;-)
I’ve had Amex HY for a while now too, had no issues. Is separate from the CC site. Would recommend it.
More positive feedback on this, thanks. Wonder why they don’t make it enticing to open accounts there, maybe give $50 or something #spoiled #entitled
Sam said “Some say having a meaningful sum in an Amex HY Savings account will help in or help to avoid a financial review. ”
OK, so how many zeroes would make a sum meaningful?
The more the better 🙂