Another TBB post featuring the most eclectic links around the web such as mandated personal finance education, software coding in AI world, Iran war backfiring, new IHG & Marriott offers, huckster’s playbook, more warnings on alternative investments, fiduciary rule struck down again, America’s public disorder, AI enabled Google Maps, 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. And much more. Enjoy the weekend.
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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.
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BLOG HOUSEKEEPING
This is truly a one man labor of love operation, enjoy it while it lasts.
I need to work on the annual rendition of how I burned almost 2 million miles & points in 2025 again but time is short and focusing on main job that pays the bills and home renovation contractors so I will get to it some day before 2026 lol.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“ All things in moderation, including moderation” – Socrates
MUST READ GEMS
Best thing I read last week:
PERSONAL FINANCE
Disgusted by this: America’s Most Tortured Retirement Regulation Is Struck Down (Again). But not surprised at all by the power of the big companies keeping their privilege to pump some expensive annuities to get more money out of consumers. It is 2026 and we just can’t get over the hurdle that all financial advisors should be fiduciaries…at all times smh.
So pleased to see more states mandating personal finance to be taught in school, now up to thirty-nine states, up another four since 2024: What’s Cool in High School? Personal Finance. States are adding the class as a requirement and ditching economics, giving priority to practical education. I have a funny personal story to add here. I came to the US as an exchange student from Greece for my senior year in high school. Culture shock was overwhelming of course. One aspect was the completely different high school, I get to pick my own classes wow. So, I picked Home Economics because I thought I would learn something about financial stuff. Only to learn how to cook pancakes lol. Then I inquired about “Study Hall” and other students assured me I had to pick it. Only to find myself goofing around in the cafeteria hall “studying” for my other classes. Ok, back to more serious matters…
More warnings about alts in 401(k) plans: The AltView’s take on industry on industry propaganda.
The traditional asset management industry faces a revenue crisis. Decades of fee pressure, driven by the mass migration of retirement savings into simple, low-cost index funds, presents a serious business challenge. To replace this vanishing revenue, an interconnected “investing-consulting industrial complex”—comprising asset managers, recordkeepers, investment consultants, and private equity lobbyists—is executing a coordinated, aggressive campaign to push high-fee, illiquid Alternative Investments (Alts, or alternatively ‘Private Investments’) into the $14 trillion defined contribution market.
To sell plan sponsors on investments that lack a true illiquidity premium, industry players use a variety of ruses:
Mathematical Manipulation
The Pre-Fee Sleight of Hand
Academic Washing and Data Distortion
Regulatory Evasion & The Fiduciary Shell Game
Keep this mind always:
The industry has been successfully pushing towards a system in which asset managers, consultants, and recordkeepers reap massive fee windfalls, while the actual legal and financial risk is pushed entirely onto corporate plan sponsors and everyday retirees. Meanwhile, if history is a guide, returns to investor-savers will very often (and possibly the majority of the time) be WORSE!
CRYPTO/TECH/SCAMS
Long deep dive on all things hucksterism, respect to the author for putting this together: Hijacking the Huckster’s Hyperbook. Be careful out there!
Remember that dude Paul Regan who was selling “guaranteed” high yield “investments” with names like Yield Wealth and Next Level Holdings? We talked about him several times here in my blog with me wondering “Why is this guy out free and not in jail yet?”. Jason Zweig of the Wall Street Journal exposed him and amazingly that guy tried to BS his way out of it! Anyway, the wheels of justice run slow and finally: Financier Who Offered ‘Guaranteed’ High Yields Pleads Guilty to Fraud.
And then we have another fraudster who escaped jail because he was pardoned, the infamous Trevor Milton of the Nikola truck company: Pardoned for Fraud, a CEO Mounts His Comeback: “We Can Trust You Now”. Yeah, that dude who repeatedly lied and was convicted and sentenced to four years. And then Trump pardoned him, joining a long list of esteemed criminals roaming free out there. And he is back at it with another company and if you invest in it there is an excellent chance you will lose it all, so consider yourself warned. And this made me throw up:
Milton and his wife had also donated at least $3.2 million to Trump’s 2024 election and to political groups and people in Trump’s orbit, including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Milton said the donations weren’t related to his pardon. Now, Milton has joined an exclusive group of post-pardon business people, seemingly anointed by Trump’s favor. “I walk into meetings now, and I’ll get high-fives from the most wealthy people in the world,” he said. “They’re like, ‘Welcome to the club. You can withstand the fire. We can trust you now.’”
AI
Software engineering has totally changed due to AI: Coding After Coders: The End of Computer Programming as We Know It. In the era of A.I. agents, many Silicon Valley programmers are now barely programming. Instead, what they’re doing is deeply, deeply weird.
A coder is now more like an architect than a construction worker. Developers using A.I. focus on the overall shape of the software, how its features and facets work together. Because the agents can produce functioning code so quickly, their human overseers can experiment, trying things out to see what works and discarding what doesn’t. Several programmers told me they felt a bit like Steve Jobs, who famously had his staffers churn out prototypes so he could handle lots of them and settle on what felt right. The work of a developer is now more judging than creating.
But what happens to the next generation? Will they still develop that intuitive sense for code? If your job is now less about writing than assessing, how will newbies learn to assess?…How things will shake out for professional coders themselves isn’t yet clear.
How are you using AI? I find myself clicking on the AI symbol on YouTube to summarize the videos which works great. While not doing much I click on Gemini on my phone and ask it a question, which works great as well. Of course you need to be mindful of the results. These are the top two AI applications I use almost daily. Other than that, not so much…yet? In my industry (and I am guessing in most industries) there are AI apps being shoved at my face several times daily. But none that made me say “take my money” yet? Sometimes I wonder how all these mega billions spent on data centers will ever turn profitable.
ODDZ & ENDZ
Trying to stay away from politics but it is impossible lately. Very interesting article: How America’s War on Iran Backfired. The writer is: “NATE SWANSON is a Resident Senior Fellow and Director of the Iran Strategy Project at the Atlantic Council. He served as Director for Iran at the National Security Council between 2022 and 2025. In the spring and summer of 2025, he served on the Trump administration’s Iran negotiating team.” The article concludes this way which I agree with. Which means absolutely nothing by the way fwiw.
Iran’s strategic objective now is to impose such high costs on the United States and the Gulf states that Trump will opt for a cease-fire that includes a restriction on future Israeli actions. In essence, Iran wants to force him to choose between Israel’s security interests and the stability of global markets. The bottom line is that the war Trump started has no good ending. And every day it goes on seems to delay a better future for the Iranian people. This is a tragedy that only Khamenei and Trump, together, could engineer.
I like this anti gambling organization : Bettor Off Foundation. Hard to argue against these sad stats:
America’s next epidemic.
More than 10% of college students are pathological gamblers.
That’s 5x the national average, by some estimates.
Universities are looking the other way, with almost none offering counseling services for gambling addiction.
We like art around here. So this link will lead you to museums showing their own “Mona Lisa” piece: It’s Their Mona Lisa. Which one is your favorite?
Amazing photography: Winners of the British Wildlife Photography Awards 2026.
TRAVEL
I need to learn how to use Google Maps better, I feel like I only utilize 10% of what I could do with it. Wait, there is more: 1st look at Google Maps major AI upgrade with new ‘Ask Maps’ and 3D navigation tools.
This was inevitable and the plug was finally pulled: Southwest Leaves O’Hare and Dulles.
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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
So, here we go again…
Reason #534 to not do any business with this company: “No Remorse, No Accountability”—Bilt Users In Uproar Over New Credit Cards. Be careful out there, you do NOT want to be messing with stuff like this!
… infuriated customers say their rent and mortgage payments aren’t going through.
I only post here important stuff. Because I value your time. This is something that is normally not posted around here. Because it is really not that relevant. Just linking it here to show you how I think: Chase Sapphire Reserve: Price Match Guarantee On Hotel Bookings (Includes The Edit Bookings).
“Can’t wait to stay at YOTEL” said no one ever lol: YOTEL joins Hilton – another independent hotel brand throws in the towel.
TRAVEL REWARDS CREDIT CARDS
For ANY questions on cards, contact me anytime at travelbloggerbuzz@gmail.com
Well, last week I mentioned how strange it felt to post how Marriott Bonvoy is getting better lately. And then the company said: “Hold my beer!”, sad lol. It was always notoriously hard to be able to get a new Marriott card. And amazingly they made it even harder. And Amex seeing you have Chase cards and restricting you from getting an Amex card is next level, we are screwed!
American Express Adds New Restrictive Language To Marriott Cards
Are you eligible for a new Marriott card?
Eligibility Checker Tool For All Five Marriott Credit Cards
If this ever happens to you, fyi: How long does an AMEX Financial Review take.
NEW OFFERS:
Several excellent new credit card offers finally, maybe this blog can sell a few to evade the ax? You can always email me to ask anything about these offers.
200k CHASE IHG Business Premier: After spending $4k in the first three months for the first 140k points. Another $5k of spend (for a total of $9k) for another 60k points in the first six months, annual fee $99. For more info on it, click HERE.
25k CHASE Freedom Unlimited: After spending only $500 in the first three months, $0 annual fee.
200k AMEX Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant: After spending $6,000 in the first six months, annual fee $650.
175k AMEX Marriott Bonvoy Bevy: After spending $5,000 in the first six months, annual fee $250.
5 Free Nights AMEX Marriott Bonvoy Business: After spending a total of $9,000 in the first six months, annual fee $125.
For more info click on these AMEX Marriott Bonvoy cards click here.
80k CHASE World of Hyatt Business: After spending $10,000 in the first three months, annual fee is $199. For more info, click here. Highest ever offer as well, with higher minimum spend though.
75k CITI AAdvantage Business World Elite MasterCard
AMEX HILTON HONORS BUSINESS: Limited Time Offer: Earn 175,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points plus a Free Night Reward after you spend $8,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors Business Card in the first six months of Card Membership. Offer ends 4/15/2026. Terms apply.
AMEX HILTON ASPIRE: Limited Time Offer: Earn 175,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases on the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card within your first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 4/15/2026. Terms apply.
AMEX HILTON SURPASS: Limited Time Offer: Earn 130,000 Bonus Points plus a Free Night Reward after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 4/15/2026. Terms apply.
AMEX HILTON HONORS: Limited Time Offer: Earn 70,000 Bonus Points plus a Free Night Reward after you spend $2,000 in purchases on the Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 4/15/2026. Terms apply.
CURRENT OFFERS:
125k CHASE Sapphire Reserve/150k CHASE Sapphire Reserve for Business
175k AMEX Platinum & 200k AMEX Business Platinum
75k CITI Strata Elite card
Due to credit card vendor restrictions, the only affiliate links I can place in the body of my posts are for Capital One cards. For the rest, you know what to do. You can always email me at travelbloggerbuzz@gmail.com with ANY questions.
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BONUS OFFERS NOTIFICATIONS
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Elevated Card Offer Notifications
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MY ACTION AND BLOG BUZZING
I continue to apply periodically, at least once a month, for the AMEX Schwab Platinum card. Only to be greeted with the pop up jail message telling me I am not eligible for the signup bonus. I will continue to apply for it until the new annual fee on my Amex Platinum Business card appears. Because the personal credits are soooooo much better than the ones on the business card. I may proceed with the application when that time comes and forego the 80k (currently) signup bonus. I can’t believe I just typed that you guys.
My wife is safely back from Malaysia. Her round trip with Turkish Airlines with just one stop in Istanbul was great both ways. And I find it shocking that the miles were in her United Airlines account shortly after the planes took off, wow!
I ended up canceling the Alaska Airlines award for my daughter that had her flying Qatar Airways through Doha from Kuala Lumpur. Because, well, there is a lot happening in the Middle East. Panic ensued because the available options were non existent for awards and the cash prices kept going higher and higher. Ended up finding a “bargain” cash fare on Delta flying Korean Airlines through Seoul to Seattle. 2 days after what she wanted. We’ll see if this works shortly. Son is on an Aeroplan award going back to Honolulu after stopping in Bangkok for a few days. Hopefully it all works out. A client of mine was going to travel to Paris, they canceled and driving to Florida instead. And so it goes…
My wife applied for a new credit card. You will be surprised to learn that she went for the 30k United Gateway card. What, only 30k signup bonus you may ask. I know, I can’t believe we went for such a lowly signup bonus. But hear me out here. She just canceled her United Explorer card last month leaving her with no United plastic. Which means no shot at the Saver awards with United. And she still has almost 200k United Airlines miles to burn. And this is a no annual fee card and $10k of spend will open up the Saver award availability until 2028. And with first quarter tax estimates coming up it will be easy to just get this done. And then again, judging from the targeted promotions I myself get on my own United Gateway card (which keep coming by the way non stop!) we are looking forward for those and then I can coach her which card to use.
And I am itching to sign up for a new credit card as well. Because, you know, the addiction is real. The 5 Free Nights Marriott Bonvoy Business card is nice but I am sensing I am in the AMEX doghouse. Then the new 200k CHASE IHG Premier Business card is also nice and it may be time to start diversifying away from Hyatt. But my Chase count is at 6/24 right now. But 3 of the 6 are business cards so I may lob one app in and see what happens. One of these days the dreaded pop up will also come up to join its Amex brother pop up, so sad. I need to figure this out over the weekend. Or just let them go for now while thinning the app counts and simplifying my life. #ToBeContinued.
I am continuing to inch up my spend on the personal Hyatt Visa and the Amex Hilton Surpass cards to hit that magical $15k spending to earn the Free Night certs. It is so easy to figure this out on the Amex side since it provides a daily updated spend tracker online. But tracking that on the Chase Hyatt side remains a mystery. And I always forget if this Hyatt Free Night cert expires in six or 12 months; it will be so incredibly helpful if all these Hyatt certs expired in a year like the Hilton ones.
Is it just me or is the Hilton Honors website one of the worst?
House renovation project continues its progress steadily. We may need to move out for a few nights or so next week to let the wood floor set in. Or do its thing, I am not well versed in these things. So before 2026 I would just look around for local Hyatt properties and burn some World of Hyatt points. Not anymore. Because them Chase points are getting rationed. Which is a seismic event in this space. We all need to be more strategic and pray banks change their tunes to get back to the former glory days when banks never stopped showering us with big credit card signup bonuses. I am afraid those days may be gone forever.
I started drinking coffee with mushrooms. Something like Lion’s Mane. The instant coffee type, which may not be your thing. It is super expensive and it is phucking amazing, I am so clear headed and alert and feel like I am about to tackle the hardest things in life. Including this blog lol. I am falling in love with a brand named RASA. Packet shows: “Radiant Roast Coffee Adaptogen & Mushroom Rhodiola Cordyceps Lion’s Mane”. I am under the influence of it right now as I am typing racing to publish this post before I hit the gym!
Managed to see two movies recently. The Oscar nominated The Secret Agent. Which was so disjointed and left wondering what pills all these guys in the Oscar nomination committee swallowed. Then again, I kept shaking my head when One Battle After Another won Best Picture, wildly overrated. And then I saw the new A24 movie Undertone, which I almost walked out of.
Continuing to post my pics/videos from the November/December 2025 family trip to Thailand and Malaysia. Going slow here as well, there is a lot happening.
Last week over at YouTube:
Breakfast at the Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur
And over at Instagram:
Mother in law’s 90th birthday party small family celebration in Raub, Malaysia
Around the Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur
Follow on Instagram and YouTube if you want to see more from the recent Thailand/Malaysia trip, I am slowly posting them there.
Check out my page listing my affiliate links HERE including Rakuten and Top Cash Back and Rove Miles and more.
This blog ends when my 2nd credit card vendor kicks me to the curb due to “low sales volume”. Or the latest three month accounting below turns to all red, whichever happens first. Until then, enjoy my blog if you read this far. If you are thinking about starting a blog, don’t!
Blog Revenue Full Disclosure:
January:
Credit card sales: 2 Buy me a Coffee sales: 20
February:
Credit card sales: 1 Buy me a Coffee: 22
March to date:
Credit card sales: 2 Buy me a Coffee: 1
HOT CREDIT CARD OFFERS:
150k CHASE Sapphire Reserve Business, 125k CHASE Sapphire Reserve, 75k CITI Strata Elite, 75k AND $250 Travel Credit CAPITAL ONE Venture Rewards, 100k CHASE Ink Business Preferred, 175k AMEX Platinum, 75k CAPITAL ONE Venture X, 200k AMEX Business Platinum, 200k CAPITAL ONE Spark Cash Plus, 75k CHASE Sapphire Preferred, 200k AMEX Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant, 175k Bonvoy Marriott Bevy, 30k CHASE United Gateway, 100k AMEX Gold, 15k AMEX Blue Business Plus and many more!
As of today, I have burned 151,515 miles/points year to date (after burning 1,893,248 miles/points in 2025 and 2,027,816 in 2024) and have 4,276,255 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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I subscribe to Chris Arnade’s substack so I read that “America and Public Disorder” piece a few weeks ago. It’s very good and I’ll second the recommendation and I’ll also recommend the entire substack. His schtick is doing long walks all over the world, both US and abroad, good neighborhoods and bad. He’s got a unique perspective on things. Some pieces are subscriber-only but there’s a healthy amount of stuff outside the paywall.
Just subscribed to the free plan, thanks.
When I lived in Korea it was pretty common to see people spitting inside trains/subways. Like the pull up phlegm type…surely not urinating but still gross. Agree that societies emphasize different things. Despite all that I wish was different in the US, I’m still choosing to live here. The grass is always greener on the other side.
Link to reddit thread of weird Korea subway experiencs. There is a picture of someone peeing on a seat in a link.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Living_in_Korea/comments/1mgc61o/whats_the_most_absurd_thing_youve_experienced_on/
I’m not trying to say the US doesn’t have problems and do agree we deal with many poorly but it’s not perfect anywhere.
This is the first time I hear of this. So I am inclined to think it is an isolated incident.
I do have personal experience with public transportation in Bangkok and New York in recent years. Sometimes I dream of riding the public transportation in Bangkok, completely spotless, respectful people, no drinks/food allowed, so super relaxing. In NYC on the other hand…
Of course it is not perfect anywhere. But you just can not compare the two, it is like night and day. Sometimes we need to see things as they are even though it hurts our national pride.
I just found the piece I linked to so right on and it deserved to be singled out. And this is all I do here, I share worthy reads.
Thanks for the comments.
I dunno about spitting on a train or peeing in a sink, but I recall in 1974 being on a train going to West Berlin through East Germany and the toilet emptied out straight down to the tracks. You could see the railroad bed right below you!
Thanks for all the good stuff as always. Glad to hear the renovations are going well and hope it winds up with everything done right. Also glad your Daughter is safely on her way back home. You couldn’t pay me to travel through the middle east, especially Doha and around there right now.
That gambling stuff is nuts. Never was much of one and last marriage fell apart with a lot of the trouble at the end being over her compulsive gambling at casinos. It is one of the toughest and most harmful addictions out there.
I rode that train in 1987!
Daughter is leaving Kuala Lumpur today, cross fingers.
You never hear of any happy gambling stories. Because no one ever wins gambling. Client married gambling addict and it was one of those awful life experiences all around.
Yes, it is a good time not to flying the middle east!
I wonder if the repurposed diabetic drugs that are having such an impact on the ability
of people to drop weight, and now seem to have an impact on more general addictive
behavior, will have an impact on people’s addiction to gambling.
Yep, Qatar eventually did cancel my daughters’ flights. A day before I canceled the Alaska Airlines award and miles are back in my account, phew.
These drugs work. Not sure about the behavioral addictions, that seems like a stretch to me. I guess time will show.
Hey Buzz,
Glad to hear the family is ok. Absolutely nutty and I fear it will only get much worse. I’m trying to remain positive for our booked trip to Europe this spring, eeessshhh.
Had a great time in Hawaii for my Medicare birthday. Hadn’t been there since the early 90’s. Our stay at the Grand Hyatt in Kauai was great. Gotta say the snorkeling with the Manta Rays in Keauhou Bay on the big island was incredibly cool.
Great post today, thank you again and enjoy your weekend.
I think the moron is sending in the Marines soon…
Someone asked the other day online this:
What were the odds that the dumbest mfer in the world and the US President to be the same exact person? And here we are…
Thanks for the coffees again, if it weren’t for the few loyal readers who actually take steps to support the blog, it would not have lasted so long.
https://youtu.be/Nv5UntGnVdY
Finally managed to upload the Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur Suite video.
Will try to respond over the weekend, got major spring fever here today.
Thanks for the coffees David.
Tried your link for the Hyatt biz card but no luck.
Interesting and good about personal finance being part of school curriculum.
Thank you for trying! Interesting because another friend/blog reader tried to apply for the Hyatt Biz card, first went into review and then they told me they got ” a very weird response from Chase”. I am trying to find out more about it. Did the same happened to you or outright denial? You were under 5/24 I assume. You can email me details if you want rather than responding here. Chase can be tougher on Biz approvals but did the bank raise the scrutiny/thresholds even higher?
I’m 5/24 so it was for my wife. Initially went pending then got an email saying to log in to see a letter. I did but no letter there. A few days later same email. The letter was there that time and said too many cards opened recently and some other fairly valid reason. In retrospect I should have either closed one or more of her Chase business cards or put some charges on them. I’ll try again in a few months I guess.
It’s been a while I found myself in this position. I am thinking to lob one app in just to see how it feels like lol.
Anyway, I guess she is not going the recon way?
No recon this time. I’ll close a couple of cards and put some activity on others, which should hopefully make next time work in a few months. I got lazy and complacent. Things didn’t work out as a result.