Another TBB post featuring the most eclectic links around the web such as RIP Jonathan Clements, winning 401(k), the strange Waldorf Astoria saga, I am returning from Greece, smooth tax scams add to the grifting, we need more immigration, kudos to science, the best white sand beaches, 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. Enjoy the weekend and stay cool.
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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.
Due to new severe credit card affiliate restrictions, there will not be any credit card links in the body of the blog posts other than Capital One Bank and personal referral links going forward. You can always get to my credit card links by clicking on “CREDIT CARDS’ at the menu on the top of the homepage or the big beautiful “We make finding a new credit card simple” banner on the right sidebar. Or, preferably, you can receive new offers in your email inbox by signing up to receive alerts HERE to avoid clicking to find the one credit card you want to apply for. Or you can always email me, thanks for your support.
BLOG HOUSEKEEPING
This is truly a one man labor of love operation, enjoy it while it lasts.
Currently finishing this post from the beautiful Thessaloniki, Greece Hyatt Regency as I am heading back to the US tomorrow. Staying here for only 6,500 World of Hyatt points (low season).
PERSONAL FINANCE
RIP to Jonathan Clements: Farewell Friends. I used to clip his Wall Street Journal “Getting Going” columns and send them to clients, he will be very missed.
More on Jonathan: With great gratitude, remembering Jonathan Clements.
I promise, this is the last one: Five Pearls of Wisdom From a Legend of Financial Writing.
Doing the thing you’re passionate about is overrated — for the young [Sent this to my kids, it did not go very well, you have been warned.]
Winning isn’t everything, but not losing is really something [Avoid: “…investments with high fees that chip away at returns; financial advisers who charge too much or keep certain costs hidden; and any money that you put in high-fee annuities”.]
The taxman favors the patient [It just means you should take what the government gives you in tax breaks and keep at it.]
Don’t just stand there. Do something
No, really. Do something! [Yeah, do something in retirement: “We aren’t built for leisure or built to relax. Rather, we are built to strive.”]
You don’t need fancy investment products to have your 401k plan rocket to the moon. You just need to follow this: “The more you invest, the earlier the better”. I came up with that many years ago and it has been the primary theme running in my own firm. Anyway, that was a bit long of an intro to this article explaining this in more detail: The Key to a Winning 401(k). Private markets aren’t necessary, but smart savings habits are.
The moral of the story is clear: It is far better to focus on how much to save and when to start saving, instead of the whims of the public and private markets.
Only 54% of 401(k) plan participants aged 25 or younger contribute to their 401(k) plan…That jumps to 82% for 25- to 34-year-olds [Love to see this at 100% which is likely never going to happen.]
This post has three great charts. You have probably seen the first two before. Such as how the odds and the actual amount of investment gains increase with holding period. But the last one was the best one, see below:
SCAMS/CRYPTO/AI/TECH
Been screaming here how good the scammers are these days. Add AI to the mix and almost everyone is at risk: I’ve Written About Loads of Scams. This One Almost Got Me.The caller ID said “Chase Bank,” and the man on the line said I might be a victim of fraud. His supervisor would explain. I must admit, reading this, I may have fallen for it too!
Keep it simple. And watch your greed. If not, you are ready to be picked out for opportunities crap such as “tribal tax credits”: A Tax Strategy Peddled to the Rich Comes Under Federal Scrutiny. Company sold tens of millions of dollars in ‘tribal tax credits,’ which aren’t specified in the U.S. tax code. One of the main promoters of this “credit” was picked as the IRS Commissioner by the way (lasted only two months). Grifting out in the open smh.
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ODDZ & ENDZ
We are turning away people we need here in the US imho:
Immigration and Caregiving: Who Will Care for Aging Boomers?
As a former international student and with several clients taking care of parents seeing these developments hurt. A lot.
Thanks Science: Counting lives saved is difficult, but it can show us the great difference some people have made.
Wow, they like to go out in style in Ghana: Photos show Ghana’s fantasy coffins as a stylish final rest.
TRAVEL
This is a must read for a property we blogged a lot about in recent years. Remember that Chinese Anbang guy who bought it? He is still in prison (sentenced to 18 years). Wild story, I need to burn some Hilton points to stay one night. Anyone care to guess if it will take 2.2 million points lol? The Waldorf’s Makeover Went a Billion Over Budget—and China Is Footing the Bill.
Over breakfast at Manhattan’s Peninsula Hotel 11 years ago this month, the nattily dressed Chinese businessman got straight to the point. He wanted to buy the legendary Waldorf Astoria hotel. The two American real-estate executives at the table excused themselves to call the chief executive of Hilton, which owned the 1,400-room slice of New York history. Although brokers had advised the two executives that the property was worth a little more than $1 billion, the three men decided to shoot for the moon. The Americans returned to the table and told Wu Xiaohui he could have it for $2 billion. They were floored when he countered at $1.9. By the end of the day, they had a handshake deal at $1.95 billion.
I am all about beaches you know: 15 Best White-sand Beaches Around the World.
The obligatory Thailand link: Don’t Try This Thailand Day Trip Unless You’re Brave. Wow, what a place. And be careful if you get there ok?
I knew Africa is big…and this shocked me: Explaining the true size of Africa, a lesson in map projections.
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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
Here we go again.
In principle, this is good: Capital One Adds Japan Airlines, Qatar & I Prefer Hotels As Transfer Partners. In the real world we live in, not many care.
The latest: List of Transfer Bonuses for Airline and Hotel Programs (September, 2025).
I have been at this for way too many years and I just realized that SLH has its own loyalty program! SLH Club: Our Guide to the Small Luxury Hotels Loyalty Program. Or maybe I blocked it out mentally after first looking at it and deemed worthy enough not to bother.
TRAVEL REWARDS CREDIT CARDS
First, a few related worthy items below. Most of the other text listed in the next part of this Section are a repeat from last week as I just didn’t have any time to update it. Not that there has been any new worthy offers to add by the way. Anyway, with just 2 credit card sales this month I am starting to wonder if this is just way too much to add to my posts every single week while no one is clicking. Remember that dude who ran to be Vice President with Ross Perot way back in the day and at one debate said “Who am I, what am I doing here?”.
From the New York Times: With Amex’s Platinum Refresh, an Even More Exclusive Card Emerges.
Updated: AMEX Platinum Complete Guide.
Well, I guess this makes it official that these gift cards are dead. I wonder how many of them are still out there in drawers waiting to be used…one day smh: American Express Business Platinum $50 Hilton Credit No Longer Works on Gift Cards.
AMERICAN EXPRESS PLATINUM CARD REFRESH
First, to get all the details about the refreshed cards, see: American Express Refreshes Platinum & Business Platinum Cards ($895 Fee, 175k/200k Bonus, Many New Credits).
For a bit deeper analysis, see these two Frequent Miler posts:
Introducing the $895 Consumer Platinum card
Introducing the $895 Business Platinum card
And do this: Attention, Amex Platinum Cardholders: 8 Things to Do ASAP.
Amex not only kept all the benefits but enhanced some of them and added all the following new benefits, wow:
- Hotel Credit of US$600 ($300/semi-annually) up from previously $200/calendar year
- Leading Hotels of the World – Leader Club Sterling Status (Enrollment Required)
- Lululemon US$300 ($75/quarter) for purchases of Lululemon active wear
- RESY Credit US$400 ($100/quarter) for eligible purchases at U.S. Resy restaurants
- RESY Restaurant Platinum Nights with preferred reservation at select dates
- OURA Health Appliances US$200 credit
- UBER ONE US$120 annual credit for monthly renewing subscriptions
The Signup Bonus offers remain the dreaded “Up to 175,000 points” for the personal card (most getting 80,000). And a solid 200,000 points for the Business card.
A few words about the Business Platinum card. In my opinion, this card has become vastly inferior to the personal Platinum. Did it also improve? Yes of course, by finally adding the $600 FHR hotel credit. I never figured out why this benefit was never part of the business card. Anyway, this was finally fixed. It even added an earnings enhancement by now earning 2x on purchases of $5,000+ in selected categories. Which is certainly welcome. Which does not change the fact that all Platinum versions are designed to not be used for earning points, there are numerous travel reward cards out there so much better in earning power. Don’t even think about reaching for much higher spend of $250k to gain a few extra perks/benefits.
But the sad fact remains that so many benefits applying to the personal card do NOT carry over to the business card, such as: $400 Resy, $300 Digital Entertainment, $200 Uber, $300 Lululemon. Anyway, the business card still has the $200 airline credit, the $150 Dell credit and the quarterly $50 Hilton credit which I mostly use. Add a few FHR hotel nights in the mix and I decided to keep the Business Platinum card. I got no retention offer at all which hurt my feelings. So I am actively looking for a way to apply for the personal Platinum, maybe the Schwab version since I may be getting another credit for doing all my investing with Schwab. If anyone finds a no lifetime restriction offer on the Schwab Platinum please let me know. After I squeeze every credit I can before the end of the year. Oh wait, just ordered two monitors from Dell for daughter #winning.
NEW OFFERS:
So many new offers so little time. I still think the two 90k no annual fee Chase Ink Business cards below are a no brainer. Below them I am adding the new 120k Chase Southwest Performance card and the up to 100k Chase Aeroplan card. Just mentioning them right now as I am running out of time here in Greece to add all the card features you guys…
And they are back! Two NO ANNUAL fee cards from CHASE, the CHASE Ink Business Cash and the CHASE Ink Business Unlimited, for 90,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points for $6,000 minimum spend. Thanks for supporting the blog, you know what to do.
The 90K CHASE Ink Business Unlimited card is back. This is a NO ANNUAL FEE business card that earns 1.5x on everything, unlimited. The minimum spend required to earn the Signup Bonus is $6,000 in the first three months. Don’t use this card abroad as it has a foreign transaction fee. Chase may advertise this card all over the place as a cash back card but it does pay the Signup Bonus in 90,000 Chase Ultimate Reward points. Of course, extended warranty, purchase protection and primary CDW when renting a car for business purposes also apply. All these goodies for no annual fee, wow! Needless to say you don’t have to book travel in the Chase travel portal to get the travel values above. You can transfer your points to airline and hotel partners and possibly get even more more value than what you can get at the Chase travel portal, assuming you do have one of the cards mentioned above (Sapphire Reserve or Sapphire Preferred or Ink Business Preferred). But that requires a little more legwork from you to transfer, find availability, book award trips, etc. I like to transfer to Hyatt, Air Canada Aeroplan, United and sometimes Southwest. Available from my favorite bank links above.
The 90K CHASE Ink Business Cash is a NO ANNUAL FEE card. The card now offers the 90k Signup Bonus after $6k spend in the first three months. It earns 5x on office supply stores and internet/cable/phone services on the first $25,000 and 2x on gas and restaurants on the first $25,000 and 1x on everything else unlimited. Don’t use this card abroad as it has a foreign transaction fee. I usually go to Office Depot and buy gift cards of the stores I usually shop at, hello 5x Amazon! You can transfer your points to airline and hotel partners and possibly get even more more value than what you can get at the Chase travel portal, assuming you do have one of the cards mentioned above (Sapphire Reserve or Sapphire Preferred or Ink Business Preferred). But that requires a little more legwork from you to transfer, find availability, book award trips, etc. I like to transfer to Hyatt, Air Canada Aeroplan, United and sometimes Southwest.
Attention all you Southwest Companion Pass lovers and seekers: Chase Southwest Business Performance Card 120,000 Points Signup Bonus (Companion Pass With Single Card Signup). $299 annual fee. $10k minimum spend in 3 months. If you time this right, you can earn the Companion Pass for all of 2026 AND 2027! Offer expires 10/22/2025 by the way. So if you apply in early October you can get the bonus posted in early January 2026 and boom!
Chase Aeroplan 100k Bonus Points. $95 annual fee. 75k points for $4k spend in 3 months. Additional 25k points for $20k total spend in 12 months.
BANK OF AMERICA ALASKA AIRLINES THREE ATMOS CREDIT CARDS
100K AND 25,000 Point Global Companion Award Bank of America Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards Summit Visa Infinite Card: The new premium credit card we have been waiting for a while. $395 Annual Fee. Fairly low $6k minimum spend in first three months. Earns 3x on Alaska/Hawaiian Airlines purchases, dining and foreign transactions, 1x on everything else. 10% bonus points if you have an eligible Bank of America account, so the 3x becomes 3.3x oh la la. Can earn 100k Global Companion Award cert if spend reaches $60k during the year. 8 Alaska Airlines lounge day passes and 8 Wi-Fi passes every year (2 per quarter). Free checked bag for cardholder and up to six on same reservation. 10,000 status points every anniversary. 2 status points for every $1 spent, uncapped. Waived partner award booking and same day change fees. $50 vouchers for cancellations and 2+ hour delays. One free cocktail drink at each lounge visit (through 2026). Points sharing with up to 10 Atmos Rewards members. 20% off in flight purchases. $120 statement credit for Global Entry/TSA Pre. If you had requested to be waitlisted for this card you should have received an email with an application link that can earn an additional 5,000 points (on top of the 100,000).
80k Bank of America Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards Ascent Visa Signature Card: $95 annual fee. Comes with a $99 Companion Fare. $4k minimum spend in first four months. 3x on Alaska/Hawaiian Airlines purchases. 2x on gas, EV charging, cable, streaming and local transit, 1x on everything else. Earns 1 status point per $3 spent (up to 30k status points in 2025 and uncapped starting in 2026). 10% bonus points if you have an eligible Bank of America account. Free checked bag for cardholder and up to six on same reservation. Preferred boarding. 20% inflight purchases. $100 off annual Alaska Lounge membership. No foreign transaction fees. Here is a link to get you 85k miles instead of the 80k affiliate link.
80k Bank of America Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards Business Visa Card: $95 annual fee. Comes with a $99 Companion Fare. $5k minimum spend in first three months. 3x on Alaska/Hawaiian Airlines purchases. 2x on gas, EV charging, shipping and local transit, 1x on everything else. Earns 1 status point per $3 spent (up to 30k status points in 2025 and uncapped starting in 2026). 10% bonus points if you have an eligible Bank of America account. Free checked bag for cardholder and up to six on same reservation. 20% off inflight purchases. $100 off Alaska Airlines Lounge membership. No foreign transaction fees. Here is a link to get you 85k miles instead of the 80k affiliate links.
EXPIRING OFFERS:
125k CHASE Sapphire Reserve: Chase raised the Signup Bonus to 125,000 from 100,000 points. Which is great of course. But it also withdrew the $500 statement travel credit in the original offer, boo. Then again, you know, getting an extra 25,000 point is certainly a lot more flexible. The minimum spend is $5k in the first three months. As with all cards, you know what to do to help the blog, thank you. You can read a lot more about the Sapphire Reserve cards HERE.
30k CHASE United Gateway: One of my favorite no annual fee keeper cards. Just $1k minimum spend in the first three months. Earns 2x on United purchases, gas stations, local transit and commuting, 1x on everything else. You get expanded award availability and 2 free checked bags after $10k spend in a calendar year. 25% off in in-flight purchases. No foreign transaction fees. Many spend based promos with this card from personal experience, there is always a spend based promo going on, it is surprising and love it.
We have a great REFERRAL offer from Capital One: 75,000 Points + $300 Travel Credit Capital One Venture. If you value simplicity, this card earns 2x points everywhere (and 5x on hotels and rental cars booked on the Capital One travel portal) with a $95 annual fee. No foreign transactions fees, Visa Signature benefits and credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.
Capital One is at it again with a revised offer for the Capital One Spark Cash Business Card $1,000 Signup Bonus With $10,000 Spend. The card has its annual $95 fee WAIVED for the first year. No annoying credits to deal with, it just earns 2 points everywhere. And you can earn 5x on hotels and rental cars booked on the Capital One travel portal too. And when you have a Capital One Venture X or the Venture card above, the $1,000 can be turned into 100,000 miles.
After waiting for Citi to introduce a premium credit card, it finally arrived. Please click the link below to get all the info you need about the card and email me if you want to apply.
Citi Strata Elite Review: 80,000 Points Bonus, $595 Annual Fee, $300 Hotel & $200 Splurge Credit
Citi has a new offer for 30,000 Thank You points for its Strata no annual fee card. Very good earning rates for a no annual fee card: 5x on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on cititravel.com, 3x spent at Supermarkets, Select Transit, Gas & EV Charging Stations, 3x spent on an eligible Self-Select Category of your choice, 2x spent at Restaurants and 1x on All Other Purchases.
My still favorite bank Chase is at it again. We have two new 100k offers on United business cards. Actually, the United Business card is decent, especially for people who have United elite qualification aspirations. I have it myself and not keeping it past the first year by the way. Ends November 5, 2025.
Brand new elevated IHG and Delta SkyMiles offers just launched yesterday:
- Chase IHG One Rewards Premier: 165,000 Bonus Points after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Chase IHG One Rewards Traveler: 2 Free Nights + 40,000 Bonus Points after spending $2,000 on eligible purchases within the first 3 months from account opening. Each Free Night is valued at up to 50,000 points.
- Chase IHG One Rewards Premier Business: Earn up to 200,000 Bonus Points. Earn 140,000 Bonus Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months from account opening. Plus, earn 60,000 Bonus Points after spending a total of $9,000 in the first 6 months from account opening for a total of 200,000 Bonus Points.
If you love IHG, the Premier card always made sense to make it a keeper imho. If you hate annual fees, the current Traveler card also makes sense, especially if you have targeted a particular property for a two to three night getaway. Lots of IHG points to score if you can swing the very high (for a hotel card) minimum spend for the business card. Don’t have the time to list the other benefits of these cards while traveling you guys, you know what to do and thank you.
Please help the small independent blogs like mine continue to exist by supporting them with your CREDIT CARD clicks, thank you!
THIS CARD STILL PAYS FOR ITSELF:
The 75K CAPITAL ONE Venture X card has a minimum spend of $4k in the first three months. If you like simplicity and looking for one (premium) card, I highly recommend this card (and yes, I have it myself!). It has an annual fee of $395 but it comes with an easy $300 statement credit for travel booked on its own travel portal, essentially turning it into a $95 annual fee card. But wait, there is more! On each card anniversary you earn 10,000 points essentially making it FREE! Every dollar of spend earns 2 points and flights booked on the travel portal earn 5 points per dollar. You get access to Capital One and Plaza Premium airport lounges and a Priority Pass Select lounge membership and, this is important, you can add four authorized users FOR FREE who can also have their own Priority Pass Select airline lounge membership and, this is BIG, they can bring in unlimited guests with their FREE Priority Pass card! You can transfer your Capital One points to up to 18 Transfer Partners. No foreign transaction fees. Free Hertz President’s Circle rental car top elite status. Cell phone protection and PRIMARY rental car coverage. Awesome seats at baseball stadiums for just 5k points each. And lots more.
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.
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
MY ACTION AND BLOG BUZZING
I am typing this final section on Thursday evening while eating way too much again at the lounge reception at the Thessaloniki Hyatt Regency. For the past two weeks or so I have been checking availability for the final night in Greece and it was always sold out. Which is shocking. In a desperate move, two days out I called the hotel and asked if they can help a (Globalist elite) brother out. Shockingly, I got a call back and they said that they can help me book a room. At a great rate. I said how much and the nice rep said 270 euros. I asked if I can use points and she said I need to do this online or in the Hyatt app. I said it has been sold out and she replied she found this standard room rate. I said, hold on and fired up the app and voila, a standard room was there staring me in the face at only 6,500 World of Hyatt points (low season). I booked it while thanking the hotel rep #winning.
So, procrastinating worked out great with the hotel. But I had been checking daily to find me a better route in Business Class back to the US. But nothing came up. Aeroplan and Alaska and British Airways were absolutely dreadful. A few crazy routings with American Miles. Plenty of economy awards with United but nothing better than what I got. And really distraught with the lack of United Business Class Saver Awards this time, sad.
So, I am resigned to fly Aegean from Thessaloniki to Zurich, then on Swiss to Washington IAD and then on United to Detroit. In economy. I am not that elitist to only fly up front you guys. It will be fine. I flew Swiss years ago and I really enjoyed it, hope it happens again. What bugs me is that I will miss the glorious breakfast at the Thessaloniki Hyatt Regency.
What I posted in Instagram in case you don’t follow me there:
Pics from my AEL FC soccer team game
The Greece trip has been amazing. What could make it the best is me watching my AEL FC game get a win. It was not meant to be in the three games I attended (two ties and a loss at the very last minute of the game in my last night in Larissa, ouch that hurt).
Also, there was a video added in my TBB YouTube page thanks to a valued member of the team family lol. From the place we stayed in Kefalonia island. We paid in cash, no hotel points were used by the way. Was it worth it? Hell yeah, imagine yourself waking up every morning and walking down to this beautiful beach:
The Seasons Villa Kefalonia – Sunrise Walk Down to Ai Helis Beach
Going to leave you with just one pic of us from the wedding of my nephew as I need to get to bed to wake up at 4 am and head to Thessaloniki airport. This post may go live on Thursday by the way.
I DO have a separate page listing my affiliate links HERE for:
Proton VPN, Uber and Lyft.
I am giving myself a challenge to average 5 credit card sales and 15 Buy Me a Coffee sales per month. If I can’t even hit these low targets after almost 13 years of blogging I am out. We now have:
July:
Credit card sales: 6 Buy me a Coffee sales: 24
August:
Credit card sales: 8 Buy me a Coffee sales: 22
September to date:
Credit card sales: 2 Buy me a Coffee sales: 10
HOT CREDIT CARD OFFERS:
200k CHASE Sapphire Reserve Business, 125k CHASE Sapphire Reserve, 175k AMEX Platinum, 90k CHASE Ink Business Cash, 75k CAPITAL ONE Venture X, 90k CHASE Ink Business Unlimited, 100k CAPITAL ONE Spark Cash, 200k AMEX Business Platinum, 200k CAPITAL ONE Spark Cash Plus, 75k CHASE Sapphire Preferred, 30k CHASE United Gateway, 100k AMEX Gold, 75k CAPITAL ONE Venture Rewards, 120k CHASE Southwest Performance Business, 100k CHASE Air Canada Aeroplan, 15k AMEX Blue Business Plus and many more!
As of today, I have burned 1,477,712 miles/points year to date (2,027,816 in 2024) and have 4,083,011 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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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.
Hello from the intertropic convergence zone south of Hawaii, which we left yesterday on a cruise from Seattle to Australia. It took 5 days to get to Hawaii and another 5 days to get to our next stop in Tahiti. Wifi is great considering the location. Starlink really works well in extreme isolated locations.
Kefalonia photos look great, doesn’t look too crowded compared to how the Greek isles looked back in June. Nice photos for the soccer match. I actually saw Olympiacos play a pre-season friendly against Union Berlin when I was there in August. Seems to be more Greek talent making it to European football clubs outside of Greece.
Have to agree with Bob, Kefalonia pix look great. Jonathan Clements certainly met his fate with an attitude I am not sure I could match. I am glad he found happiness in his last marriage. The lesson to all of us is to get our papers in order in case the same fate should come looking for us.
Bob, your timing to arrive in Oz is perfect. The worst of winter appears to be over and you get here before the scorching heat of summer. What are you plans whilst you are here?
Trying to knock off a few places I haven’t been so a week in Adelaide, a few days in Melbourne to get positioned for a nonstop flight to NZ, and a week in Wellington before 2 weeks somewhere around Queenstown/Wanaka….haven’t had any luck finding a place yet there. Then probably heading to Brisbane to fly back to the US.
I was looking at Hobart but had some difficult finding a flight that worked to get me to NZ without wasting an entire day of travel. Need Qantas to fly some 737s there.
Wonderful links today! The tributes to Jonathan Clements were just great.
If you get a chance the Capital One lounge at IAD is worth visiting. Since the Venture X
is a break-even deal, I have the card just to use at the lounge.
Thank you.
Good stuff as always! I did have time to read the article about the phone scammers. They just keep getting more clever. Ugh! Hope the travels home are going OK for you!
Hey Buzz, great post today, thank you sir. Read it all while waiting for my delayed flight to board,
Yes…still waiting. Gonna have to go through some recent posts as they just announced another 2 hour delay.
Great pics of the trip, wish I could have made a game in Larissa, not meant to be I suppose.
Safe travels home and thanks again!
Hi from the Capital One lounge in Washington Dulles IAD. It is indeed a great lounge. Eating my way through my $395 annual fee (less $300 travel credit less 10,000 anniversary points) lol.
Regrouping this weekend.
Thanks for the two readers for the coffees. And all your kind words.
Glad to be home finally.
Wonderful pictures. It’s so great that you got to gather and reconnect with the family.
@ Bob: Which cruise line goes from Seattle to Australia. Stops in Hawaii, Tahiti, Fiji next? Month long? Maybe Starlink solves the worldwide wifi access issue but, you know, Elon Musk…
Yeah, Kefalonia was great and loved the timing of our trip. I could not take it driving there in the tiny streets in July/August. The top 4 Greek teams, including Olympiacos, are at another level budget wise. AEL FC is back in the big league but we have many issues and it will be difficult to manage to avoid relegation. I was in attendance back in 1981 when AEL FC beat Olympiacos at their home field in a legendary match when we first showed the glimpse of what is coming ahead in that glorious decade. 40,000 in attendance, those were the great soccer days in Greece before full blown professionalism and hooliganism changed the game. Now the best Greek players go abroad sadly.
@ Vicky: Agree on Jonathan Clements, very graceful way to go out after that horrible diagnosis. I remember reading when he posted and I was shocked. Also, very interesting that he did not mention anything at all about his first two wives.
@ DML: Yeah, I really liked the IAD Capital One Lounge. Not too big/small, perfect size. And the tacos were so awesome I focused on eating them and only managed just one picture, oh well. Thanks for the kind words. This post happened because I took my time to spend that past Thursday in the Thessaloniki Hyatt Regency. Next post will have a few more links about Jonathan.
@ Carl: All went great. I downloaded a bunch of YouTube videos and went on a watch binge on my Swiss flight from Zurich to Washington. Which was followed up by overeating the tasty tacos in the IAD Capital One lounge. Only glitch was in Detroit when there apparently was confusion which gate our plane will go to so about a half hour delay overall, not bad at all. I am still shocked all trip arrangements I did worked out so awesome…maybe I have a talent for this lol.
@ David: Thanks again for the kind words. The only thing that bothers me from my Greece trip was that I did not get to experience a win of Larissa AEL FC. Place would get even so much more crazy if that would have happened. When I catch a game we usually do not lose. But that happened in the last game the night before I left in a minute 95 goal…which felt like a dagger. This was NOT the way to go out 🙁
@Christian: Yeah, this trip was very good for all of us.
This one is Carnival, but I think there’s quite a few ships that leave Alaska and head to Oz for the winter. I guess the rest probably transit the Panama Canal and end up in the Caribbean. Next up after 2 stops in French Polynesia is New Caledonia.
Thinking to take a shot on the 125k Amex Schwab Platinum. I have the Business Platinum currently which I intend to drop if I get the Schwab Platinum. I did renew at $695 on the Business Plat on 9/1/2025 by the way and already got the newish $150 Dell credit. On top of that, I already got $450 of credits credited earlier this calendar year.
I have had the personal Platinum before of course. But it was years ago. Could be 7 years ago? Maybe, not sure.
Any tips on how to make sure I get the Signup Bonus? Not sure if the Schwab Plats come with no lifetime language links. Or higher Signup Bonuses (like the regular personal Plats).
What do you say fellow readers?
I have the personal Platinum now and applied for the Schwab, but was denied the bonus. I wonder if it comes down to not having a current Platinum and then waiting 7 years from when you applied or 7 years from closing down your Platinum? Who knows. Too bad, as that 125k would have been nice!
Got the popup on the Schwab Plat. Will try incognito and other browsers this week. I think the fact that I am not putting much spend on my current Amex cards may have something to do with it.
Ah that sucks. Hopefully it will work out and you’ll be eligible. I will wait to downgrade my current Platinum when the AF hits and then likely wait for another Schwab 100k plus offer.
Yesterday with Chrome, popup.
Today with Firefox Private Window, popup.
Will keep trying, tough to say goodbye to the 125k SUB points. Don’t want to get it without them but if I keep striking out I may go for it and then cancel my Business Platinum.