Another TBB post featuring the most eclectic links around the web such as retirement freedom or free-fall, scams out of control, the most expensive restaurants, new credit card offers from US banks keep coming, the purchasing power of $100 in each US state, AI enables more scams, global living conditions continue to improve, Paralympics heroes, the best places to go and cry, labyrinth locator and much more and of course always all of the most important developments in the crazy world of miles and points. See you next next week, enjoy the weekend!
TBB Blog Mission: To Educate. Entertain. Inspire. In That Order!
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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.
This is a one man labor of love operation, enjoy it while it lasts.
BLOG HOUSEKEEPING/TRAVEL NOTICE
Attending the Future Proof Conference in Huntington Beach, CA next week. It is my third year in a row and every year I burned World of Hyatt points to stay in a beautiful suite at the fantastic Huntington Beach Hyatt Regency Resort & Spa. I have no idea how this blog will look next week. I am thinking maybe I do a streaming blog featuring updates with wisdom nuggets from the conference, some pics from around the conference and whatever, in reverse chronological order. Maybe get you guys to come back here so I can increase the site traffic and the advertising revenue…oh wait, I don’t have any advertising revenue lol. Would you be interested?
Then again, I want to have some fun and the last thing I need to do at this stage of my life is add more time spent on this blog. But I do like to do things differently and march in my own direction. And innovating. Since birth lol. My wife is joining me again, she loved it last year. Hard not to love this conference, it is on the beach and outdoors and full of food trucks, including In-n-Out!
We’ll see what happens. If nothing happens, ask for a refund!
Developing…
PERSONAL FINANCE
We are all different. And retirement is different, we all go through the motions and deal with it differently. Some of us find the concept too heavy so we keep working because it is too much to deal with. And this post really brings all this internal turmoil up to the surface, really felt what the author has been going through. I think it is a must read: Retirement: Freedom or Free-Fall? Read the whole thing, you are welcome. I am just going to excerpt below the final paragraph:
I’m still the same person, now that I’m retired, though I no longer swagger with self-importance. In fact, I understand now what I might have seen all along, had I not been so distracted by the chase: I am utterly unimportant and always have been. But that should not impede my search for more meaning, more mattering, more understanding. That’s the journey I’m on now. It’s the journey I’ve always been on.
In the meantime, let’s continue to stick with facts: American households finally got a raise in 2023.
The median household — the family in the middle of the income distribution — earned $80,610 in 2023, the Census said, up 4% from 2022 after adjusting for inflation. After-tax median income also rose, by 3.7%.
Never be featured in an article like this: Michigan mom was afraid of financial reality as credit card debt piled up. I hope that no one who ever got a credit card on my site falls in this category. Because, clearly, giving plastic to some people is like providing them weapons of mass destruction to blow themselves up.
Jenny Bauman never ran the numbers to try to calculate just how much her credit card debt would end up costing her at frighteningly high interest rates of nearly 30% a year. And she had absolutely no idea how long she’d be buried in debt if she kept making only minimum monthly payments, which, thankfully, is no longer a cause for concern on her financial horizon. “I like living in a bubble,” Bauman said warmly… Yet her money woes kept building, thanks to an extraordinary level of student loans, assorted spending sprees, a catastrophic cycle of payday loans, and $13,000 on eight credit cards at an average rate of 29%, credit card debt that could only climb higher as she made minimum payments, sometimes late. [It is only a matter of time before the bubble becomes a noose. I bet you the real problem is what I added in bold font.]
I swear my kids are determined to be in the top four in this list smh: The Purchasing Power of $100 in Each US State.
SCAMS/CRYPTO/AI/TECH
We have talked about some awful scams in this section over the years. But this one is one of the worst ever: Big Banks Watched as Con Men Wiped Out a Widow’s Life Savings. And this lady was sharp and still, be careful about your elder loved ones everyone! When you read the details of the scam you will freak out!
The con targeting Annette is in a league of its own. It coursed through the nation’s three largest consumer banks, two major investment firms, a regional lender, credit union and some of the world’s biggest credit-card issuers. It showcases how the industry responds to signs of elder fraud.
AI is coming: FBI busts musician’s elaborate AI-powered $10M streaming-royalty heist.
Michael Smith, 52, allegedly used AI to create hundreds of thousands of fake songs by nonexistent bands, then streamed them using bots to collect royalties from platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. [Added the bold font for emphasis]
This blog is not going to blog itself. I rely on my readers helping it grow as I don’t have time to do any promotion/marketing. Which leaves the content clean of intrusive sponsoring posts and stupid ads and stuff like that.
You like my blog? Send a link to someone please!
ODDZ & ENDZ
Wow, what a story! After you read it you will likely not swim in an area that there is even a minimal chance of a lurking shark nearby. How Paralympic swimmer Ali Truwit recovered from a shark attack.
You know I despise sensational clickbait bullshit. And people constantly bitching about how everything is so horrible. Let’s stick with the facts and chill out please: The short history of global living conditions and why it matters that we know it. Very few think the world is making progress. In this article, we look at the history of global living conditions and show that the world has made immense progress in important aspects.
We all should be in awe of these athletes: The best Paralympic images by Tom Jenkins – a photo essay.
TRAVEL
This is very cool: Labyrinth Locator. I had no idea there were 118 of them in Michigan alone.
When I think of my blog’s commercial appeal I feel like crying. But wait, I can go to these places to do exactly that. The Most Dramatic Places in the World to Cry. Which one is your favorite? 🙂
Actually, when my blog is discovered, I am going to blow some of my buyout money in some of these meals you guys: The Most Expensive Tasting Menus in America. If I could get a reservation that is!
How to get into Alinea – Bookings become available on the 15th of every month at 11am CST, for two months in advance. And by 11:01 they’re gone. So, the waitlist is your friend.
The discount is now $60 if you sign up for ETF using code TBB below. You can be first!
SAVE $60 FOR 2024 THE EXTRAORDINARY TRAVEL FESTIVAL
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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 NEWS/PROMOS/CREDIT CARD CORNER/MY ACTION
We start with two offers in the Expiring Credit Card Offers section before we get into juicy developments, including another barrage of new offers by the US banks; it never ends in the good ol’ USA. Remember, this only happens in this country because there are numerous individuals like the lady featured in the Detroit Free Press article in the PERSONAL FINANCE section above who fall into their trap. Always practice control, never pay interest to the banks and leave enough in the checking account for bills (and park your emergency/short term cash in a high-yielding account elsewhere).
GENERAL NEWS/PROMOS/NEWBIES/ETC.
Oh, be careful with them Hilton gift cards! Beware: What To Know Before Buying Hilton Gift Cards (15% Surcharge).
More changes in Southwest Airlines as it tries to fend off opportunistic “active” investor Elliott: Southwest Tries to End Elliott Threat By Sacrificing Gary Kelly. The airline may have bought itself some time to get these guys off its back. The funniest line in the article was this though:
Southwest says it is doing a “comprehensive board refreshment,” which, I believe, in Herb Kelleher’s day would mean somebody ran out to the store to get more Wild Turkey and cigarettes.
Register for the new Marriott Bonvoy promotion to earn 2,000 bonus points per two night or longer paid stays through November 26 HERE.
CREDIT CARD CORNER
I will indicate with NEW every new section as the rest is the same from the previous blog post and will finally roll off those parts as offers expire, thank you.
NEW: This is a thorough helpful guide: A Complete Guide to Using Your $200 Amex Platinum Hotel Credit.
NEW: Lol, what was Goldman Sachs thinking? Goldman Sachs To Sell GM Card Portfolio To Barclays For $2 Billion In Discounted Deal.
NEW: Here goes Amex on its couponization spree, smh: American Express Uber Credits Will Require Paying With AmEx Card (Begins November 2024).
NEW: Good to know Chase came through here with the damage to a rental car: Putting CSR Rental Car Insurance to the Test.
MY ACTION
I am a complete newbie on YouTube. I don’t have time to post videos consistently there or learn how to do video editing, etc. But I do what I can. So, here is my daughter’s video from the Hyatt Regency in Bellevue, WA in Seattle’s East Side she recently stayed in, using World of Hyatt points (with my Globalist Guest of Honor cert).
I am still doing award searching on the two trips I have outstanding. And I always appreciated the updates to this guide: Which award search tool is best? I added PointsPath, which is a Google Chrome extension and still not impressed. I start at PointsYeah, maybe use the freebie award search in the Bilt app as well on my phone. And I generally check out the American, Air Canada and United websites. After getting an overview of the current prices in the tracked Google Flights. Maybe one day I buy an award search tool to use. Glad to see them all surviving and the competition that is evident in this space.
Daughter is home for the weekend from Seattle. She is loving her time at Microsoft, she is dealing with cybersecurity cloud marketing stuff. I have her maximizing her HSA and her 401k contributions. To do so, I set her 401k contribution rate to 65%. When you combine this with the HSA contribution per paycheck at $545, she may not have any money left over lol. I told her she needs to make it to January 1, 2025 when we roll back the contributions to occur over the full calendar year. She will thank her CFP dad one day. It’s ok to suffer a little bit when young, let the compounding begin!
I am getting custom orthotics for my feet in my never ending effort to get back on my feet (pun intended). At this point, my goals are very modest, as in walking normally again. And maybe have a shot hiking Machu Picchu one day. Physical therapy continues as I am trying to change how I walk basically. So much pounding over the years on my feet a certain compensating way took its tool as it caught up with me. I was warned to take it easy but listening and lack of stubbornness was never one of my things #liveandlearn.
ADVANCED
Be careful getting involved with these outfits to increase your cc spending to score miles/points: Using Buying Groups to Increase Credit Card Spend.
The You Tube algorithm is in full force and started feeding me videos of so many in that platform, it is mind blowing you guys, some of them have thousands of subscribers, I have 32 lol.
I saw somewhere online that the Chicago Seminars entry fee is $329 (or was it $379). Hey, you can learn how to travel for free for sure there lol. So many newbies falling for schemes not really realizing they are the product. Same with the FIRE bloggers. Anyone online can say anything they want and sell “expertise”. Maybe ask them how long they have been doing this? I saw a YT video of some miles experts talking about the different luxury Hilton brands and many of them admitted they had never stayed at a Conrad or Waldorf and I am like, what makes you qualified to post a video on the topic?
MILES & POINTS
HOT CREDIT CARD OFFERS: 90k CHASE Ink Business Unlimited, 75k CHASE Ink Business Cash, 75k CAPITAL ONE Venture X, 75k CHASE United Business, 150k AMEX Business Platinum, 200k CAPITAL ONE Spark Cash Plus, 150k CAPITAL ONE Venture X Business, $1,000 Cash Back CHASE Ink Business Premier, 5 FREE Nights with AMEX Marriott Bonvoy Business, 15k AMEX Blue Business Plus and many more!
As of today, I have burned 1,501,957 miles/points year to date (1,148,286 in 2023) and have 4,542,647 miles/points in the bank. Some do drugs, I do miles lol!
BONUS OFFERS NOTIFICATIONS
Would you like to be automatically notified every time a card comes out with (or is about to remove) an elevated welcome offer? If yes, I highly encourage you to sign up if you haven’t yet. And when you apply for a credit card from a link in these emails you help support the blog (and you don’t have to hunt down the link in my Credit Cards page!)
Elevated Card Offer Notifications
All you have to do to receive these free notifications is:
1. Click on the link above
2. Create an account
3. Subscribe
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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This site may receive compensation for sending traffic to partner sites. Travel Blogger Buzz and Your Best Credit Cards may receive a commission from card issuers. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not necessarily include all financial companies or all available financial offers. The editorial content on this page is not provided by any of the companies mentioned, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone.
The YouTube travel credit card pushers make me long for the days of Mommy Points, Darius, Renee. We didn’t know how good we had it!
Thanks for the weekend reading!
Need to add a third cat picture: “Husband and wife cats on Laura Loomer’s Facebook”: it just shows 2 cat’s skeletons with a caption “Meanwhile, in Springfield”
Twitter accounts who don’t like Trump are posting “They’re eating the cats” songs.
Twitter account who do like Trump are also posting “They’re eating the cats” songs.
Trump has successfully united the country.
Wow! Lots of good stuff today! Thanks, George! Gonna take a couple days to get through it all. Busy weekend in front of me. Thanks as always for the blog!
@ DML: I always liked Mommy Points. I wonder where Daraius is these days, last time we heard of him he was arrested in a PETA demonstration or something. And that other dude, amazingly still blogging and still making typos in blog headlines, unbelievable.
Everyone is moving to YouTube. Miles to Memories and today even Milenomics. I think people’s attention span is just way too limited to read these days. Which does not bode well for this blog.
@ Anon: That was really funny, at least I get some laughs in my blog because clicks ain’t happening. For the record, TBB does not endorse eating your pets, WTF!
@ Carl: Yeah, I agree. The retirement article and that first scam story are must reads.
Been thinking to do that streaming blog post from the conference. Then I look at my haul at just 5 coffees this month and 4 cards (all the 120k Ink Business Preferred on the very last day lol, at least my readers are smart!) month to date and it makes me want to cry. At least now I can pick up a few places to go cry from that article in the Travel section I linked to, sad lol.
Daughter saw first paycheck and her face expression was priceless: “Do you expect me to live on that?”. Yes I replied, woohoo.
I was listening to the Miles to Memories podcast and they were talking about how things have changed online, how people’s attention span has been shortened and stuff like that and…
one commenter said “Sorry I don’t have time for the podcast right now, but can you tell us when and where the Chicago seminar will be?”
Lol.
I think my blog is too intellectual and too phucking long to keep the interest of more than a few people. And then even they go away, like my fiend Pat, the MS Queen, who recently unsubscribed as well. Which still hurts a lot.
So, here I am keeping up the quality and barely making anything to keep this baby going. Basically, not going anywhere. Not that I ever had any grand aspirations, I am just kidding when I talk about being discovered. But the pendulum between time spent here and bringing in enough to justify it, instead of closing a bit, getting larger. I mean, it looks like hitting 10 cards sold with the new cc vendor is a pipe dream so another ax is coming. Seeing so many YouTubers selling plastic with thousands of subscribers and me here busting my behind to make just peanuts that sane people would make fun of me…you know, it blows.
So, as of right now, I was going to do a streaming blog with frequent updates from the Future Proof conference next week. But that just will continue messing up my stellar CFP/CPA reputation with my neurotic miles/points TBB self. I better stop doing that.
This blog was always and likely will remain an escape for me.
Anyway, managed to get daughter back from Thailand, another 55k United miles burned. So, it is likely I am going to cancel both legs when I find something decent to buy. Because burning 110k United miles for a simple roundtrip SEA-BKK is ridiculous.
The Friday post will stay until cc sales dry up completely. Or until the cc vendor kicks me out.
Coffees sold are completely immaterial to the commercial viability of the blog. But do wonders for my psyche, especially when they are combined with positive feedback.
Actually, I am always open to suggestions on what to do around here.
When you comment “Keep up the great work”, can you stop and think “what have you done about this?”. Did you send my blog link to your mother? Did you take the time to comment constructively? Did you buy a coffee? Did you say screw to the bigger blogs you give your credit card clicks to and instead decided to use TBB’s cc links because you want this guy to continue blogging because his content is great and adds value to your life?
On a more positive angle, yesterday I hit a low in my weight for 2024. Celebrated with binging on sushi with my girls hoping that daughter will pay for it celebrating her first paycheck but since it was so tiny I paid for it LOL.
I feel better. Time to pack soon. Flying Southwest to Orange Country. Because bags fly free and will pick up a crapload of swag to gift to relatives in Greece.
Keep checking here, I may get bored and post something before Friday.
Enjoy your weekend, the weather in Michigan has been perfect lately.
Thank you for being here.
Having way too much fun at my conference in the Huntington Beach Hyatt Regency. Great suite and trying to control myself on food. The blog is reverting to Friday posts because Tuesday is not happening. Not sure I can even get to Friday post this week my schedules is packed!
And judging from the clicks here, it appears I may just pull a Drew and just disappear.
You all have a great week.
And don’t hate Taylor Swift smh.
Oh, I guess the Lions are not going 16-0
If you enjoy walking/hiking you’re in the perfect spot. So many great places for amazing hikes in SoCal. Much closer than Machu Picchu (I recommend Charmlee Wilderness Park if you want stunning views of the pacific coast). Or just go down to Laguna beach if you want a pretty beach. If you want to compete with Ritholtz Wealth Management, you need to start a podcast!
Mr competing against the Ritholtz army, lol. Thanks, needed this.
Been walking a lot and the feet bother me so no hiking adventures for me for a while.
For email subscribers, are you receiving the emails from me? Maybe the reason for the traffic drop is that they stopped.
Anyway, no time to post here. Friday post should appear. But changes are coming, maybe time to separate TBB the travel hacker with my normal finance side.
Me, not Mr.
I always get the blog in email in case you are still wondering