Another TBB post featuring the most eclectic links around the web such as the roaring twenties, 401k plans do not suck, Putin’s paranoia, the definitive tipping guide, must have Chase cards, Vanguard sticks with no Bitcoin, an update on the Wirecard fraud, more on carbon frauds, latest on the Ukraine Russia war and the ISIS-K terrorist attack in Moscow, we travel deep down to earth to visit a hotel and go back to North Korea, update on some sports developments, and of course always all of the important developments in the crazy world of miles and points and a lot more. Enjoy the weekend!
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Welcome to my quirky original authentic blog. It all started back in 2012 focusing on my crazy hobby addiction of frequent flyer miles, hotel and bank points. It has since evolved to a curated at least weekly post of the best web content I find along with my commentary. Here to Educate primarily, sometimes Entertain and if I get to Inspire you, well, that is a bonus.
This blog publishes on Fridays. Sometimes it is a Thursday if I am traveling. This is a one man labor of love operation, enjoy it while it lasts. I may post on a Tuesday too going forward if I get to it.
PERSONAL FINANCE
Please do not ever listen/click on anything from Robert Kiyosaki, the author of the book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”. For your own sake. Also, make sure you never click on media sites still giving this guy a platform to spew his nonsense. No, 401(k) Funds Do Not Cost 2% Per Year. Beware the claims of investment personalities.
Please, participate in your company’s 401k Plan. At a minimum, do enough to grab the full company match. I recommend doing the maximum contribution each year and adjust your current lifestyle around this. It may hurt you a little but you will adjust. And you stay at it for a couple of decades and you will not regret it. I speak from experience on this, mine and my clients’.
I enjoyed the responses to this lawyer’s question on Twitter asking for advice about that book. The responses were fun to read. Be careful out there!
ETFs are killing mutual funds, as we discussed in last week’s post. The last frontier before they finish them off…it’s the 401k Plans. It will not be easy: ETFs Seek Breakthrough in 401(k) Plans.
I have been saying for a while that when you look at the facts we are doing pretty darn well here in the US. There was a recent article trying to determine why the prevailing mood is the opposite and I think its conclusion was that it was due to the pandemic and its immense trauma we all have been dealing with. It made more sense than anything else. Anyway, this was pretty good: Are We Living in The Roaring 20’s?
The facts:
Net worth is at all-time highs.
The stock market is at all-time highs.
Housing prices are at all-time highs.
Economic activity is at all-time highs.
The unemployment rate has been below 4% for more than two years.
You can even earn 5% on your cash!
We all know what happened in the 20’s from the last century. I am not saying history will repeat. If you think you can time the market you probably have not been around for too long. So, have a plan and stick with it. Which requires being mentally strong. You find out how strong mentally you are when shit hits the fan. So, enjoy it while it lasts indeed.
CRYPTO
While Blackrock and other investment companies smelling fees jumped into Bitcoin ETFs, Vanguard continues its strong stance to stay away from this shit to protect its investors. Vanguard’s Buckley Doubles Down on Anti-Bitcoin ETF Stance.
Vanguard CEO Tim Buckley has doubled down on the firm’s anti-bitcoin ETF stance. In a recent company webinar, Buckley said the world’s largest asset manager was unlikely to change its mind on bitcoin “unless the asset class changes.”
Is Tim (who is retiring) leaving an opening to the next Vanguard CEO to dip into it because, you know, the fees? We’ll find out…
Today Sam Bankman-Fried is going to be sentenced on his seven guilty felony convictions. I predict he gets nine years. I expect to be wrong, we’ll find out and you can make fun of me.
SCAMS
I have blogged several times here about the Wirecard scandal in Germany. And the one exec who escaped to Russia and is still on the run. Well, well: A most wanted man: Fugitive Wirecard COO Jan Marsalek exposed as decade-long GRU spy. Fugitive Wirecard COO Jan Marsalek wasn’t just responsible for Germany’s largest financial fraud in history. He was also a decade-long Russian spy.
This is a very long investigative piece about some fraudsters across the pond. Who took carbon fraud to unimaginable heights. Watch It Burn. Two scammers, a web of betrayal, and Europe’s fraud of the century. I wonder if these intelligent hard working people had instead applied their talents and skills to legit activities. And I still wonder if there is some substance in the brain of some people that is just full of stuff that makes people to gravitate to a life of fraud.
GEOPOLITICS
Horrific terrorist attack in Moscow by ISIS-K terrorists. I wonder why they chose Moscow, maybe they are preoccupied invading Ukraine? Great tweet (or is it Xeet?) by Illia Ponomaenko about classic Russian propagandistic smokescreens.
Let’s find out more about these psychos: What is ISIS-K, the group that claims it carried out the Moscow concert attack? You know, we are talking next level mind phuckery when Taliban and al-Quaida are not that extreme for these guys, WTF!
…the group has sought to distinguish itself among jihadi fighters by adopting a radical Islamic worldview more militant and uncompromising than its rivals, including al-Qaida and the Taliban.
Ukraine’s national soccer team made into the Euro 2024 Championships after beating Iceland in a playoff match. I loved seeing “F*ck Putin” signs in the stands. So, Ukraine and Georgia will be in the tournament while Russia stays home. Maybe one day the Russians will realize their leader blows? Putin’s Paranoia.
Putin’s Ukrainian theory could make Russia more vulnerable to terrorism. The Crocus City Hall attack was more likely because Putin has chosen to use his security apparatus against Ukraine and the opposition. It is typical of his priorities that, on the very day of the Crocus City Hall attack, the regime defined international LGBT organizations as “terrorist.” When Putin publicly ridiculed the United States on 19 March for warning of an Islamic State attack, he was signaling to the security apparatus that this was not a real danger. In conflating Islamic State with Ukraine now, he is doing the same thing at a higher level. That cannot be helpful in the practical work of preventing another attack.
ODDZ & ENDZ
This is really cool. Movie Posters Perfected. A live, cloud-based library of over 3,500 curated movie posters you can stream to your digital display.
Sorry, I can not resist making fun of this vehicle: Rear Wheels Breaking Off. “Floppy Wet Noodle” Windshield Wipers. Easily Humiliated by a Subaru. This Is the Cybertruck.
What a job! Swiping on dating apps has turned into a career for some. Here’s how they turned love into a job. If you are into dating apps, maybe the hottie you are chatting with is not who you think? 🙂 Will it be long before these dating apps come with their own AI concierge to offer to subscribers at $99.99 per month or something smh.
TRAVEL
This is one of the best articles on this frustrating topic: The Definitive Guide to Tipping Around the World.
Can you imagine you check in at a hotel and then you receive a hard hat, head lamp, boots and a mountain guide and go 1,400 feet underground to your room! Abandoned slate mine in Wales now world’s deepest hotel. Can you imagine you finally get there and the lounge is closed for renovations? Lol.
We go back to North Korea. Exactly 10 years ago I went to North Korea. You can’t go there now, but it looked like this.
SPORTS
Three playoff games took place to make it into the Euro 2024 Championships to be held in Germany this summer. Poland, Ukraine and Georgia are celebrating while Wales, Iceland and Greece are in mourning.
Georgia – Greece Highlights: I watched it. Losing in penalty kicks is just very cruel. We did not play well enough to win but everyone gave it all they got. And when that happens no reason to complain. Very glad to see the Georgians finally make it into a major tournament, the country is on Cloud nine, good luck to them.
Wales – Poland Highlights: Poland won in penalty kicks. After watching the highlights the disappointment of the home team must be even more devastating as they dominated the Poles. It is a cruel game sometimes.
Ukraine – Iceland Highlights: Ukraine came back after going down in the first half. Ukrainians are resilient, they gave their people something to cheer while being bombed by the Russian terrorist state.
USA vs Mexico soccer games are always intense, this is a great rivalry. And USA on top again: Mexico vs. USA: Extended Highlights | CONCACAF Nations League Final.
Sweet 16 NCAA Basketball tournament games on tap. All #1 seeds still alive, not sure how I feel about that. Boring perhaps?
BUZZING
A section where I go on and on about some stuff that happens in my life and anything else that just does not fit in another section above
Finally: Jasmin Paris first woman to complete grueling Barkley Marathons race. Way to go Jasmin, this one is for inspiration!
Jasmin Paris from Midlothian completed the Barkley Marathons in Tennessee with just one minute 39 seconds to spare of the 60-hour cut off…The course, at Frozen Head State Park, changes every year but covers 100 miles involving 60,000ft of climb and descent – about twice the height of the Mount Everest…Only 20 people have ever made it to the end of the race within the allotted 60 hours since it was extended to 100 miles in 1989.
If you have ever seen beavers parachuting from airplanes do not click this link. Lol.
I saw the new William Shatner documentary, You Can Call Me Bill. If I was Bill I would find it disappointing, I can’t believe they made such a boring documentary about this legend.
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/MY ACTION
It was another week with a lot happening but no event jumps out to define the week..
GENERAL NEWS/PROMOS/NEWBIES/ETC.
Well, the lawyers litigating this got fat. Visa and Mastercard to Slash Fees by $30 Billion Over 5 Years. Going to take a long time to see what really happens in this space, I am not worried. Yet.
Hard to believe Chase did not kill this years ago when the other banks did: Chase Sapphire Reserve & Chase Ritz-Carlton Lose Priority Pass Restaurant Access.
Register to earn double World of Hyatt night credits at its Thompson branded properties HERE. The promo is for stays between March 22 and June 10. Of course the promo ends about two weeks before we stay at the Thompson in Chicago !&^*!
In the old days, we had the Club Carlson hotel loyalty program. Where for a little while we could get a free night for every night we burned points for an award, it was glorious while it lasted. Then my memory gets a little foggy but somehow Radisson came into the picture. And burning these points for Radisson Blu stays was not bad until those too were devalued. And then Choice Hotels bought it and I have been trying to burn these hotel points ever since! To burn Choice points you can not book awards more than 100 days in advance which just blows. Anyway, maybe there is a chance to use these points now: Preferred Hotels now bookable online with Choice points!
I used to transfer my Chase Ultimate Rewards points to United and Hyatt. And sometimes to Southwest. Well, no more United transfers after its latest mega devaluation. I am going to be transferring to Air Canada Aeroplan more going forward, even though getting involved with its horrid call center if I run into any problems with my flights is something that kind of terrifies me. Anyway, I think the advantages (as of now) outweigh the disadvantages. The main advantage? All About the 50 Airlines You Can Book Using Aeroplan Points.
CREDIT CARD CORNER
There are always new travel rewards credit card offers. You just need to figure out what you want out of your travel and how much time and (can be minimum) cost you want to put into it. Nothing is free.
Breeze Airways penciled in a credit card partnership. With Barclay’s Bank. Guys, contain your excitement, woohoo!
This is a good post and I am in agreement: What are the “must have” Chase cards?.
There was a massive 300,000 points Signup Bonus recently for the Capital One Venture X Business card. The offer now is back to 150,000 points. And that is a good thing. Why? Because to get the full 300k Signup Bonus required a ridiculous $100,000 minimum spend. To get the 150k Signup Bonus now requires “only” $30,000 minimum spend. Good luck getting approved, you will likely need it with this bank. Works almost the exact same way as the personal Capital One Venture X card. As in the $395 annual fee is offset by a $300 travel credit and 10,000 points anniversary bonus. Four Free authorized users get their own Priority Pass lounge membership, which includes restaurants!
MY ACTION
I am checking out the Hyatt Regency Dallas and the HALL Arts Hotel, a Curio property by Hilton in Dallas this weekend. And I will finally visit the Capital One lounge in the Dallas-Fort Worth DFW Airport.
When I saw the Double Night credit World of Hyatt promo for stays at Thompson hotels, I got a lot more interested. And the Chicago Thompson is one that just went up to Category 5 from Category 4. On the last day before the points increase I booked two nights (which will give me 4 night credits) for 24,000 World of Hyatt points total so I can get my Greek passport renewed at the Greek Consulate located downtown Chicago. RT Amtrak train ticket easily booked for $100 paid with my Capital One Venture X card and will use 10,000 points to reimburse this charge. And this is how I roll, you know.
Still no action for Greece trip and possible return to Thailand in November/December. Trying to get some clarity on wife’s sisters’ trip to the US and their itinerary. Mother in law’s health issues and hospitalization are throwing another complication to the mix. We’ll see what happens…
ADVANCED
Very helpful post: How to Transfer Hyatt Free Night Certificates and Other Awards. I recently did this in late February and transferred an expiring World of Hyatt confirmed suite upgrade to a blog reader and just last week I transferred a Globalist Guest of Honor certificate to my son. Both worked flawlessly, nice job to the Hyatt IT staff.
MILES & POINTS
HOT CREDIT CARD OFFERS: 75k CHASE Ink Business Cash, 75k CHASE Ink Business Unlimited, 75k CAPITAL ONE Venture X, 75k CAPITAL ONE Venture Rewards, 100k CHASE Ink Business Preferred, 80k CHASE Southwest Performance Business, 60K CITI Premier, $1,000 Cash Back CHASE Ink Business Premier, 60k CHASE Sapphire Preferred, 60K CHASE Sapphire Reserve, 155k AMEX Hilton Surpass, 15k AMEX Blue Business Plus and many more!
This section is about my hobby addiction of collecting frequent flyer miles and hotel points since the early 1990’s! SKIP if you are not into it!
As of today, I have burned 343,308 miles/points year to date (1,148,286 in 2023) and have 4,514,305 miles/points in the bank. Some do drugs, I do miles lol!
Thanks to US banks, very lucrative travel rewards credit card offers come and go all the time. This section will act as a reference point on the best CURRENT offers. I will designate new material preceded by NEW.
Remember, you are NOT allowed to ever carry a credit card balance if you ever get a credit card here!
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 pass it on to a family member or friend. Or Buy Me a Coffee, thank you!
TBB
travelbloggerbuzz@gmail.com
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Can’t believe it’s almost April! In May we’re going to Tennessee to see my wife’s niece graduate. We’re stopping in Alabama for a couple of days since it’s the closest state to me that I’ve never been to. We’re planning on seeing the NASA facility in Huntsville and touring the University of Alabama.
After this, the only states I haven’t been to east of the Mississippi River will be Mississippi and… Michigan.
Good morning!
Lots of good links today. The question of why aren’t ETFs in retirement accounts is really interesting. Investing for yourself might differ in all sorts of ways from investing for a group of people.
Delta has a sale on so I booked a couple mileage flights to the west coast. One of the properties of dynamic price is that when the money price falls so does the price in miles.
Wonderful stuff as always! Won’t be reading a lot today but later on. Gonna be on the Brewery Bus to the Season Opener for the Seattle Mariners, in which I hope we will soundly beat the Boston Red Sox! Man, bus ride, beer, no parking hassles, decent seats and a free lunch. All in one package! One of my favorite (short) trips of the year, every year!
Hope your MIL’s health improves very soon and that the foot continues to get better! Have a great weekend!
Hey Buzz,
Did you mean Xeet or Xite?
Hello to all, just a quick comment to acknowledge you all. My flight tomorrow is at 5 am, wtf was I thinking? At least it is First Class but I am skipping breakfast due to intermittent fasting so I will miss the glorious breakfast spread on AA LOL.
I updated the post to note SBF got 25 years, I was a little off. Never ever antagonize your judge, what a dumb ass, wow.
Thanks to the reader who got credit card #2 with the new cc vendor. Both of these sales were not enough to pay for the monthly Mailchimp fee. But it helps. Mostly for my ego that someone cares and values my content.
I will have something to say about Amex’s changes of the Hilton Business card next week. And it won’t be a separate post starting with “69 Reasons I love the AmexHilton Business Card” lol.
Gotta run, I mean, walk, thanks again.
Back from Dallas and trying to catch up. And it is the end of the quarter so everything is piled up. And shockingly I see 2 cc sales in the last 2 days. Thanks to the 2 readers who got a 75k Chase Ink Business Cash and a 100k Chase United business card, much appreciated. I was going to skip Tuesday post but now I feel obligated to do one…hope I can make it. Stayed up way past my bed time the last 2 nights so sleep is lacking…Wish me luck.