Another TBB post featuring the most eclectic links around the web such as the most beautiful beaches, government speculation, Covid long haulers, River Runner, we travel to the Peruvian Andes to see people punching each other, personal finance rules of thumb, I see more and more fully vaccinated people get infected all around me, more about the long ordeal in Afghanistan, Biden deserves praise about ending the war, weird looking plants, see a baby cobra hatch that will surely shock you, register for some hotel promos, the United Quest card 100k signup bonus is ending soon, Amex goes crazy with transfer bonuses, I stay in Fairmonts for free because I am TBB (it rhymes lol!), enjoy the Labor Day weekend everyone!
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TRAVEL
You have no idea what you will find in my blog. Neither do I lol. I think this is a TBB feature by the way…
How about The 25 Most Beautiful Beaches in the World to start things off? Which one is your favorite?
I loved this: Settling Scores at a Fist-Fighting Festival in the Peruvian Andes. Each year on Dec. 25, thousands of locals gather in the town of Santo Tomás — dressed in elaborate costumes — to dance, drink and duke it out. Sounded great until that last part. Peace!
I loved this shot: Church on the blood. Aerial photo of the Church of the Saviour on the Blood in Saint Petersburg (Russia).
PERSONAL FINANCE
Some good thoughts on “rules of thumb” we financial advisors use in our work with clients: Rule Your World. If I had a dollar for every time I saw a reference to the 4% rule! 🙂
Fantastic run through history how bubbles form. Or maybe I like this financial history stuff too much? Speculation is Necessary. Governments Can Help. You need three things: 1) Marketability (the oxygen), 2) Money & Credit (the fuel) and 3) Speculation (the heat). No doubt some element of that are out there, can you say crypto and NFT and ape avatars smh…
COVID-19
MUST read, new one by Ed Yong: Long-Haulers Are Fighting For Their Future. Many people with long COVID feel that science is failing them. Neglecting them could make the pandemic even worse.
My fully vaccinated colleague who is also a professor caught Covid-19 and he kept us updated: Even Vaccinated, I Got COVID. And It Isn’t Pretty, Folks. This reiterates my intention to lay low, as much as I can. Yeah, it sucks, but getting this virus may suck even more!
The blogger at the A Wealth Of Common Sense, one of the recommended Personal Finance blogs, also got it, fully vaccinated too. I may have a contest when you will see “I got Covid” in my blog too, I think it is a matter of time and not if...Update: Ben posted about it: Some Thoughts on My Experience Getting Covid.
I missed financial industry conferences a lot. That is where I replenish my free Tshirts from vendors and I am now running low and I may have to do the unthinkable…like buy one woohoo! Only a few conferences did not cancel and just saw a pic of one of them with a hall full of unmasked financial advisors. And I shook my head to oblivion, no thanks.
AFGHANISTAN
I hope we retire this section as the media will undoubtedly focus elsewhere shortly. But this is a great chronicle of the whole war: The US War inn Afghanistan 1999-2021.
I agree with this in case you did not know: Biden Deserves Credit, Not Blame, for Afghanistan.
Unlike his three immediate predecessors in the Oval Office, all of whom also came to see the futility of the Afghan operation, Biden alone had the political courage to fully end America’s involvement. Although Donald Trump made a plan to end the war, he set a departure date that fell after the end of his first term and created conditions that made the situation Biden inherited more precarious. And despite significant pressure and obstacles, Biden has overseen a military and government that have managed, since the announcement of America’s withdrawal, one of the most extraordinary logistical feats in their recent history. By the time the last American plane lifts off from Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 31, the total number of Americans and Afghan allies extricated from the country may exceed 120,000.
ODDZ & ENDZ
This is so cool: River Runner. Click to drop a raindrop anywhere in the contiguous United States and watch where it ends up.
These are weird! 10 Positively Peculiar Plants. Which one is your favorite? Mine is the last one, titty fruit, bad George! I am going to get in trouble about this oh oh…
If you have seen a baby king cobra hatch, do not click.
MILES & POINTS
HOT CREDIT CARD OFFERS: 100k CHASE Sapphire Preferred, 100k CHASE United Quest (ENDS 9/22/21), 75k CHASE Ink Cash, 75k CHASE Ink Unlimited, 100k CHASE Ink Business Preferred, 60k CHASE Sapphire Reserve, 80k CITI Premier, 20k CHASE Freedom Flex & CHASE Freedom Unlimited, 150k CHASE IHG Rewards Club Premier and many more, including many American Express cards! Please check out my Affiliate links. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
If you do not see a credit card with my affiliate links, perhaps I could refer you? Contact me!
This section is about my hobby addiction of collecting frequent flyer miles and hotel points since the early 1990’s! Feel free to skip this section and parts of the next one if this is not for you.
Newbies: BEST TRAVEL REWARDS CREDIT CARD! The 100k Chase Sapphire Preferred card is now available with my links. If you are totally new and looking for a keeper card I think THIS is the card. Apply for it, get approved, do the required minimum $4k spend, get the 100k points signup bonus, transfer the points to United or Southwest or Hyatt or just cash out for $1,250 spend for groceries using the “Pay Yourself Back” feature assuming you do eat, right? For the annual fee of only $95, COME ON, do the math! Ok, here is the math: $1,250 – $95 = $1,155. So, if a bank offers you all this money what is your problem? Just ALWAYS make sure you NEVER EVER carry a balance ok? If you currently have the card, you can refer your spouse or significant other or third cousin or travel starved friend and you the referrer can earn 20k Chase points for the referral and the referred still get the full 100k bonus.
I must admit I am very surprised the Chase Sapphire Preferred 100k signup bonus above is still going on!
A reader who is totally new in this space asked how to get started in this addictive hobby obsession so here is my answer.
Chase is going to kill this card’s 100k bonus on 9/22/21: Chase United Quest Card Review: 100K Points Launch Offer, $125 Credit & Up to 10K Miles Annually. I do have this card for the 100k bonus of course. I also have the United Business card. My plan is to cancel both and get the no annual fee United card that will still give me better access in United awards and save me the annual fees, I am all for the signup bonuses for the most part baby! Update: Wife’s Southwest card annual fee just hit, I think it is time to cancel it and then she goes for the United Quest card, I need to check my records! 🙂
Amex has transfer bonuses often. Never before it unleashed 12 of them at the same time, WOW! The 40% transfer bonus to British Airways Avios sure looks great and…I am thinking about it. If only I had fewer Avios #firstworldproblem.
Register here for the new Radisson Rewards of the Americas hotel promotion, 7,000 points per night is not bad at all.
Register here for the new Best Western Rewards hotel promotion, 3,000 points per stay.
Marriott Bonvoy has a new promotion to earn 1,500 bonus points on each stay and more. You know, when both Best Western and Radisson beat you in promos…maybe Bonvoy just sucks!
BLOG BUZZ
We are now entering BLOG BUZZ, a section for advanced hobbyists and veterans of this fast imploding hobby and also a section where I go on and on about some stuff that happens in my life because it helps me feel better about myself.
I really like the weekly roundups The Lazy Traveler does lately: Best in Miles, Points, Credit Cards, Travel and More: Around the Web Aug 22 — Aug 28 2021. I also like that he links back to my blog too!
I am starting to run again, no more pains in my left back side. Slowly increasing the mileage and just ran seven miles non stop and it feels great! I may have a shot to finish the Athens Greece full marathon in mid November when it was only a dream a month ago…
Yours truly will be biking 30 miles this Sunday at the Bike The Drive event in Chicago. If you see me say hi! Staying at the Chicago Fairmont for two nights. In a suite. For free. Je suis TBB.
Let me leave you with this…I don’t have anything funny today, just this amazing shot, wow!
Thank you for reading my blog. If you enjoy it please pass it on to a family member or friend, thank you!
TBB
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Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
That’s a wonderful picture!
Good that you are running again.
Thanks for the links.
Thanks DML, you are number 1!
I just added the link to the just posted blog post of the blogger in the Personal Finance section outlining his experience getting Covid.
Glad that you are traveling a little bit (safely!) and having fun running, but please do not try to over-do the running and re-injure! Slow and easy, man!
Oh, and Silver! For the Pacific North West!
I am going slow…but inching up the mileage. No issues so far. Not sprinting anytime soon.
Oh, signed up for the Detroit Half Marathon on October 17. Mostly because wife is running the last leg of a full marathon relay team. I am going mostly for giggles and to keep up on my training for the full marathon November 14.
I will not be surprised if none of these things happen…
I tried to apply for the Sapphire card from Chase with your link this morning and I was denied, I think. Now what do I do? Maybe I cannot qualify for cards as much of my income is off the books or Government Benefits, and now they are cutting that back September 6. I rely on my husband, Mike, for money. Any suggestions on moving forward are appreciated by all. This is all so tempting but confusing. THANKS!!!
some enter shared income from a partner
MMS
What do you mean by “denied, I think”. Was it a flat out denial or “we got your information and we need more time”? If the latter, do not lose hope yet!
You need some income for sure, if everything is under the table or very low declared income (of any kind) is going to be tough. So some get creative. It is like a resume, its only intention is to get you a face to face interview (or via Zoom these days), NOTHING ELSE. Of course you can not lie but you can be ambiguous enough to get that call back for the face interview…oh wait, I meant approval. So, yes you can include share income from partner. My daughter added a high number because she included what she gets from me for school and the very good chance she will continue her low paying jobs AND, here is the “key”, she plans to get a hell of an internship next spring too! You only elaborate on this IF the Chase rep has questions or you call the Reconsideration department.
There is a flowchart floating out there that I think it is still valid on what to do when you apply online with Chase.
So my guess is you got the automated “We’ll let you know in writing in 30 days”. If yes, call 1.800.432.3117 and be patient with the voice prompts and choose the one to learn the status of your application.
It will soon turn to a “we’ll let you know in 2 weeks”.
Wait two more days and call again and if you STILL get the “2 weeks” message…you are 99.69% confident this will turn into an approval!
But if it turns into “we’ll let you know in 30 days” message…report back.
If this was an outright denial as you “think” it was, you need to track down the Chase reconsideration number, the last one I have is 1.888.270.2127. But it may have changed.
You need to plead your case. You have an excellent credit record, you are looking for ONE card to use as your go to card, you had the (forgot the card, WF or Santander) for 20 years without any late payments (I hope, if not, skip the late payment thingie). Shut up about the income unless asked. You love the benefits, you will start traveling, and spend a lot on dining out, blah blah blah. My daughter was extremely nice when she got her 2nd card at 18.5 years old and would not take no for an answer until the rep said yes. There is an art to this…
Of course assuming you did not have 5 any cards in the past 24 months. If yes, it is an automatic denial and you just need to wait for one or more of them to roll off that 24 month penalty box with Chase.
Hope this helps and good luck.
PT Barnum was right!
https://www.google.com/search?gs_ssp=eJzj4tLP1TdIKyxMsUwxYPTiTitKzMtWSCvKLKkCAGTeCEA&q=frank+fritz&oq=frank+fritz
About what GL ?
I agree with awealthofcommonsense
“You don’t realize how important it is to remain healthy until you feel what it’s like to be unhealthy.”
When should one get the 3rd vaccine? Apparently there’s now a mu variant.
Andorra with a solid WIN against San Marino. 3rd win ever!
Spain lost! Greece need to win some games this week.
That quote is absolutely gold. Or bitcoin 🙂
Yeah, I am really confused about the booster shot now too.
Did not catch at all today’s games. But I caught some of yesterday’s. Poor Ireland again to lose to ageless Ronaldo in the end. France looked like they were bored. Did Austria just showed up in Moldova to score one goal and then kept the ball keepaway lol. The Montenegro tying goal in injury time at Turkey is absolutely gorgeous!
The best beaches list is somewhat dubious, it’s definitely outdated. Copacabana (where I grew up) is pretty from a distance but not from up close, unfortunately it was overdeveloped. The best beach in Rio is now Leblon (where I’m drinking a cold coconut and watching the sunset). It’s winter here but the temperature is in the 80’s.
IMO, Horseshoe Bay in Bermuda should be in the list. The Fairmont Southampton is a wonderful place to spend your certs (and quite a lot of money for food), but it’s definitely worth it, you only live once!
My daughter is leaving tomorrow for 2 weeks in Greece, spending time in Athens and Zakinthos ($600+ for a house on airbnb!).
I think you are right. I am starting to sour on these Travel and Leisure links lately, I need to be more eclectic.
That Southampton Fairmont in Bermuda has been on my list for a very long time. But I am still not sold at it. Looks aged and not that easy to get to/from. Or is it the other one, always confused the two Fairmont properties there. Ok, you now caused it to move up on my list. Maybe after Covid…like everything else!
Never been to Zakinthos. Only at the Corfu port many years ago. I need to go there, waiting for a Hyatt 🙂
Agree about Horseshoe Bay. Amazing! We stayed at the sister property in Hamilton, but spent all our days there. The sand is something else.
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As to Copacabana it’s just a household name. When someone hears “one of the best beaches,” they think of it as a destination beach. It’s not. Rio is a destination, but it’s not a beach destination. Yes, most tourists in Rio stay in Copacabana. And there is a beach. And that’s pretty much it. Period.
Ipanema is better. Leblon is better. Barra is better. Although water quality is probably the same everywhere. Not good.
https://praialimpa.net
The fact they didn’t even mention Lopez Mendez on Ilha Grande tells you everything about their (not) doing their homework, although some of the other beaches look pretty nice.
God, I miss Brazil!
You are really making me move up the Fairmont Southampton on the list. Any distinctions between Southampton and Hamilton properties. Always got confused by the two and Bermuda in general without cars and getting around…
They’re very different. The Southampton is a huge, secluded, more like classical type resort with extensive grounds and beautiful beach. The Princess is a more vibrant (for Bermuda anyway) city resort with a nice pool but no beach. But they have a free ferry + jitney to travel between them, so if I had more than 2-3 days in Bermuda, I’d stay at the Hamilton one again. For 3 days and less, perhaps Southampton.
Also when we were there, there weren’t any rental cars available on the island. Nowadays they have small electric cars for rent, so you can still go somewhere wherever you stay.
Yes, that refreshes my memory about the two properties.
One day I will check them out both…one day…
The uranium squeeze is happening!
https://twitter.com/adequateryan/status/1433929680374177796
It is going to be ok 🙂
It’s going to be entertaining.
No post on Tuesday. Had a long final weekend in Chicago and I do have the material but…just did not have the energy. Looking at the revenue of the blog stuck at big fat ZERO in September certainly contributed to it. See you on Wednesday…I think.
I’ve been unable to get my TBB credit card apps approved lately so I won’t ask for a refund of my TBB subscription fees.
Buy me out please…
Still at zero here and I just don’t have that blogging feeling anymore…
I turned down a new prospect over the weekend with $5M (as in million) and doing the simple math in my head and looking at my non existent conversions month to date is making me look for a therapist. Or just drive down the street at one of the way too many recreational weed shops we have.
And I bet gazillions have clicked on the big boys just pounding them with cc pumps and clickbait.
Screw it, I am going to run!