TravelBloggerBuzz

An eclectic journey through the Travel Miles/Points blogosphere

SkyDrachmas, Mongolia Nomads, David Bowie Tribute, El Chapo

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The Delta SkyMiles should be renamed SkyDrachmas, we watch some awesome Mongolia Nomads, weep together with our own David Bowie Tribute, laugh at El Chapo and much more!

 

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It is amazing to me you still get loyal Delta SkyMiles members, wow. But maybe even they are starting to get it. Devastating quote in a Skift article: “On a Flyertalk thread discussing the most change to the SkyMiles program, emotions ranged from incredulous to defeated. “Another big middle finger from DL to its frequent flyers,” user mhbaker said. “Why anyone continues to show loyalty to this airline is beyond me.”

The 9 most inspiring travel photos of last week at Matador Network. I love these every week!

The Nomads of Mongolia. Fantastic short video!

We are going to miss David Bowie, he was an original one-of-a kind artist! Goodbye Starman. Throughout the day I felt really sad he is no longer with us. Here is what he wrote about what he had learned (must read imho!). I loved his passion and/or obsession about…space.  Loyalty Traveler, whose taste in music is somewhat similar to mine, had a moving tribute to him. Even in passing, he left in a hauntingly brilliant way.  At the end of the day, I am doing my best not to make it boring and make it as original as I can. Thank you Ziggy!

Since we are into space stuff, watch the opening of the new X-Files coming up, the last TV show I ever watched. I believe, do you?

El Chapo Speaks. This is the controversial Rolling Stone article by Sean Penn. I still think Sean did it to get to the Mexican actress 🙂

The Do’s and Don’ts of a Market Crash. Fantastic personal finance blog post.

Abused Dog Stroked for the First Time Makes Amazing Gradual Recovery. What a beautiful, inspiring video. It made my day. I do have a soft side…really! 🙂

And I leave you with this…

https://twistedsifter.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/happy-new-year-yall-11.jpg
Wow. Don’t let pumping bloggers steal away CSP card referrals from TBB, come on now! Found here

 

 

I killed another bank checking account, bye bye Chase. I continue to simplify my life over here…I miss 2015, my best year! This new year started off in the wrong foot. I am going to stop whining 🙂

The blog subscriber list is growing. They all receive the blog posts of the previous day (almost always just one) around 7 am each day. I still have not sent an email of my own to the subscribers. Any ideas on what to bother you subscribers with? I always want to make everything I do a value add, otherwise why bother? I am always open for suggestions on how to improve my blog baby and always open for criticism as well. Thank you.

 

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Comments

  5. JamaicanReefer says

    I too started a New Year cleanup, down to only about 32 CC accounts! Yeah it was a big big year of 2015. The Year of Unbelievable (meaning earning and traveling like 1%). Cried for David Bowie, as a big man left us, an authority unifying the world.

    • ABC says

      Sadly 2015 was not as great as 2014 but that’s what happens when there you have access to multiple 5x cards. Unfortunately RB didn’t work for me. I’m off to a decent start. Funded my C gold with my Arrival. In the spirit of Eliot Spitzer, I always pay my hookers (CC balance) <10k at a time.

  8. Erik says

    I know someone who does a lot of international travel for work, flying at least 1-2 long haul trips per month to Europe, Asia, or South America. He lives in central Michigan (uses MBS airport) and has two choices: UA to ORD, or DL to DTW/MSP. He flies paid international business class and gets the occasional ride on the corporate jet (the frequency of that perk last year ironically caused him to fall a few MQMs short of Diamond Medallion status for 2016). UA isn’t really an option for him because he often encounters delays/cancellations flying thru ORD and the in-flight service/product pales in comparison to DL who are more reliable. The high fares he pays means that he usually hits the Diamond MQD spending requirement in the first quarter. He seems pretty happy with DL, even with awareness of some of the cutbacks, because they shower him with miles, treat him well, and get him home on time. This is exactly Delta’s target audience. They are not going to change their direction with SkyMiles until they determine that their high-revenue customers are starting to actively book away from them because of it. I doubt that will happen until their domestic competitors step up their operations to create a better overall experience that is compelling enough for a DL frequent traveler to change their behavior. It’s kind of like the Apple effect – although Android has around 80%+ global market share, the profits made on those phones are very small. Apple has about 16-18% global market share but makes something like 90% of all profits made in smartphones. Apple has loyal customers because of their products – not a rewards program. Delta wants to be the Apple of US domestic airlines. It will be interesting to see if they can be successful with that concept.

    • TravelBloggerBuzz says

      I think you nailed it perfectly, bravo and I agree. And I really hate it that I agree 🙂

      This is exactly Delta’s target audience. They are not going to change their direction with SkyMiles until they determine that their high-revenue customers are starting to actively book away from them because of it.

      Delta wants to be the Apple of US domestic airlines. It will be interesting to see if they can be successful with that concept.

    • DonsDeals says

      I don’t actively collect SkyMiles from non-airline activity, but direct all of my paid business flights (last minute short-hauls) to Delta because product is better and UA reliability sucks. Plus I earn a ton more miles from $500+ short-haul under a spend-based program.

      The airlines with “better” Miles programs typically just get my redemption business which can’t be profitable.

      • TravelBloggerBuzz says

        We should not be wondering why all airlines are trying to imitate Delta.

        I am speaking purely from a loyalty program here….damnit! But I understand where they are coming from and I don’t blame them.

  9. Miles, Points and Pesos for the Man on the Run says

    Buenos Dias Amigos and welcome to MILES, POINTS AND PESOS FOR THE MAN ON THE RUN.

    Please don’t forget to sign up for my daily secrets from M.P.A.P.F.T.O.T.R. sent to your email

    directly from my jail cell each morning. Tomorrow we will be starting a 9 part feature on reselling

    items in your pajamas without ever having to leave your cell. Until Manana….with much love

    your pal, El Chapo.

    ps I can’t believe I got to be interviewed in the same magazine as OMAAT….we be Badass!

  10. HaleyB says

    Not really that interesting of a spreadsheet.

    There is reporting bias towards shutdowns (no news is good news) and it is meaningless to try to interpret such data.

    Data in and of itself isn’t meaningful.

    However it is a nice distraction from the stock market.

  12. Helmholtz says

    I wish MtM didn’t do that idiotic “IT’S NOT WHAT YOU THINK!!” bit. Indeed it was pretty close to what a sensible person would think (see also FM’s post…)

    Delta SkyMiles, who knows. But Delta itself? $192 to Barbados!

    Hey TBB, for improving the blog… I say more gossip!` Also, reveal to us all your secrets one by one!

    • TravelBloggerBuzz says

      There is an art to writing clickbait headlines. These guys over at BA are really good 🙂

      Yeah I saw that fare. Hope it is still there after April 15th haha.

      You are not the first one to suggest more gossip. But the gossip is for hobby veterans and I must balance that with…the people who never had an SPG card just yet lol.

      I am thinking about doing some secrets outing with the email subscriber list. But I am afraid it will then be all over at…MMS with pics & arrows and that I have a problem with.

      #evolving always like David Bowie

  15. Mike says

    Present. Thanks Buzz.

    Thanks for that interesting discussion about Delta Erik, it sounds plausible.

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