US & Foreign Stocks in the S&P 500, Pig Butchering Expands, New Age BS, Southwest Companion Pass

The latest edition of one of the best deals amazingly still alive after so many years: 2024 Southwest Companion Pass Complete Guide.

This is good advice in general: 9 Reasons You Should Avoid Booking Via Travel Portals Like the Plague. I am not sure “plague” is appropriate here. With more statement credits out there and just plain ease when booking the darn trip by using them bank points…I think this will go on. But good to be beware of what could happen and be prepared.

Get ready to start seeing a lot more properties with the City Express name brand. No, it is not Accor, they have been awfully quiet adding brands lately, weird. This one is being added by Marriott. Marriott Expands Select Service City Express Brand To The US & Canada.

Fun SAS Airlines Eurobonus promotion, all you need to do is fly 15 Skyteam airlines before the end of the year to earn 1,000,000 miles. If I was 20 years younger, based in Northern Europe somewhere and with a lot of time on my hands I may have looked at this closer to game it. But not going to happen at my advanced age lol. Oh, it brings back memories of that infamous Latin Pass promotion.

I haven’t gardened my reservations. I always leave it for…tomorrow.

There are some in this hobby who have taken it to levels you can not imagine. Some are doing it full time, I guess they have a lot of time on their hands. Arguably, way less as many doors have closed over the years. But they always probe and find new ones. When a door opens or however that saying goes. No time for me to do that with so much going on in my life. If I was retired maybe. Some bigger philosophical thoughts for advanced hobbyists: The Tipping Point.

One of the hardest transitions between casual churning and becoming a heavy hitter is the switch from earning miles and points to earning cash back. The transition should happen when you’ve earned all the miles and points you can spend cover your travel for the next 12-18 months, because:

• Miles and points devalue by 30-50% in the span of years
• The programs with the best redemptions change over time
• Points don’t earn interest
• The value of an unredeemed point is zero
• Most of us don’t travel as much as we think we will (even if we travel a lot)

Yesterday I hit my weight low this year. I celebrated with tacos from a Mexican food truck about a mile away from my house.

The home driveway and path to the front door concrete project is almost done, it is supposed to be finished today. We’ll look at upgrading the master bathroom and/or the kitchen next year. Spending money on your house never ends. Grateful we live in Michigan and don’t have to endure hurricanes like Milton. Best of luck to all affected in the Tampa, Florida area, I hope you have evacuated!

I am not going to see the new Joker film. I am getting sick of sequels, how about something original for a change?

If you are looking to get the Southwest Companion Pass today is the last day to apply for the 85k personal Southwest Airlines cards, see below. Trying to make the first credit card sale here desperately since September 4th wow, unbelievable!

Going to end this section with any credit card offer that expires within the next two weeks:

OFFER ENDS TODAY 10/09/2024: 85k CHASE Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority, 85k CHASE Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier and 85k CHASE Southwest Plus: Southwest credit card offers appear to come back regularly with signing bonuses way over the standard 50k. And, like clockwork, here we go again with three personal cards offering 85k points each: Chase Southwest Personal Cards: 85,000 Points with $3,000 Spend. 85,000 points is well over $1,000 of free travel on Southwest where everyone is bitching about the boarding process but it is the only US airline that will fly your two bags for free and make it super easy to cancel/change your flights. To learn more about the Southwest Companion Pass program click HERE. Available from my favorite bank links above.

AMEX Marriott Bonvoy Business card: Oh, it is back! Up to FIVE free nights again. I am no fan of Marriott Bonvoy but hey, five free nights is five free nights you guys. Each Free Night Award certificate has a redemption level up of to 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, expire after one year and can be topped off with points for up to 15,000 additional points per night. The annual fee is $125. The minimum spend is $8k in the first six months. Earning structure is 6x on Marriott purchases, 4x on gas stations, cell phone bills, restaurants and shipping and 2x on everything else. You get 15 elite night credits, Gold elite status AND a Free Night Award cert at each card anniversary. Having Gold elite status earns an additional 25% bonus points on Marriott stays, 2 pm late check out and if the planets align with the moon a shocking room upgrade. No foreign transaction fees. 7% discount on rooms and premium internet access. Offer ends 10/16/2024.