Another TBB post featuring the most eclectic links around the web such as USA millionaires, elder care denial, Thailand medical tourism, this glorious World Cup, making retirement fit your life, more investment wisdom, fraudsters getting busted, videos from Stalin’s funeral and other gems, dying for Ukraine, travel podcast recommendations, Thailand visas, 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. And much more. Enjoy the weekend.
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.
BLOG HOUSEKEEPING
This is truly a one man labor of love operation, enjoy it while it lasts.
I deleted the Iran War section. And added a Thailand Section, starting it off with my experience in getting a long term visa and medical tourism.
Happy Fourth of July!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Wisdom is the most important part of happiness” – Sophocles
MUST READ GEMS
Jason Zweig of the Wall Street Journal is carrying the publication lately with his work that it is getting even better with age. Will my work get better with age? Like they say, age like red wine. Or is it fine wine? Or something like that. Anyway, this was excellent as usual: How to Build a Retirement That Actually Fits Your Life. Ending up with the right amount of money is less about the stock market and more about you. And very relevant around here. Read it all if interested, here is how it ends:
For investors of all ages, a stock market near record highs should be a reminder that while the good times can roll, they can also roll away.
PERSONAL FINANCE
Pretty good review of where we are now here in the US: 7 Charts on Q2 Markets Highlights: The Big AI Rally Gets Even Bigger. And how AI is taking us even higher…until when?
Great stuff from Alan Grossman over at Humble Dollar again: Investment Wisdom.
At the end of the day, the only thing we can know for sure about the stock market is that it will either go up, go down or stay about the same. If we can structure our portfolios so we won’t be too negatively affected whichever way it goes, that, in my opinion, is the road to success.
Which naturally leads to: The U.S. Added 1,200 New Millionaires a Day Last Year. Soaring financial markets are a big reason Americans make up nearly half the world’s new millionaires.
#1 country in rate of growth of millionaires? Lithuania at 8%, wow.
TECH/SCAMS/CRYPTO
Back with Jason Zweig. You know, I am sure he can retire but what if you love what you do and contribute to society in such a huge way? Like single handedly pretty much having scum like this Paul Regan dude stop fleecing innocent people and getting him locked up. Anyway, be careful out there, there are some people who are born to hurt others. If your stomach turns looking at how this dude did what he did, you are normal. If there was an electric chair I would volunteer to flip the switch! Reading this may make you sick, you have been warned.
How a Master of Deception Conned Investors Out of $50 Million—in His Own Words
The latest monthly roundup of people whose mothers are so disappointed about how they turned out to be: The Ponzi Scheme Blog: June 2026. We are so used to by now with the typical crap these guys do. So, is there still anything that stood out for me? Well, since you asked…
There is that guy running a crypto ponzi who is running for Tennessee governor
Shocked to learn that one Chris Burns dude who vanished in 2020 has not been caught yet. Even after landing on the FBI’s most wanted fraudster list
The couple doing livestream broadcasts called “Blessings In No Time” that promised 800% returns
Remember these two fraudsters we have previously discussed here in my blog? Well, justice caught up with them. Until they too get a pardon that is…
US: Chinese billionaire sentenced to 30 years in prison
Director Carl Rinsch Sentenced to Prison in $11 Million Netflix Fraud Case
AI
Where are we with AI? Well, not sure but this was an excellent deep dive on the subject. With taking a deeper look at Stanford’s Erik Brynjolfsson: The Man Who Saw AI Coming.
ODDZ & ENDZ
What an absolutely amazing find: The Manhoff Archives. Stalin’s Soviet Union comes to life in full color with the discovery of a long-hidden collection of images. Wow to infinity. And through blogging here I bring you material that also brings me joy discovering it. And sharing it with you. Enjoy this treasure. I must admit, watching Stalin’s funeral procession filmed from the US Embassy and sometimes the US flag flowing in front of it is beyond surreal. Am I wrong wishing this giant piece of shit burn in hell instead of being put away with such honors? Ok, don’t answer that lol.
Major Martin Manhoff spent more than two years in the Soviet Union in the early 1950s, serving as assistant army attaché at the U.S. Embassy, which was located just off Red Square at the beginning of his time in Moscow. He took full advantage of his post, using his gifted photographic eye to capture hundreds of images of everyday life in Moscow and across the U.S.S.R. When he left the country in 1954 amid accusations of espionage, Major Manhoff took with him reels of 16 millimeter film and hundreds of color slides and negatives he shot during his travels – including of one of the Soviet Union’s pivotal events, Josef Stalin’s funeral. But after his return to the United States, the trove of rare images lay forgotten, stored in cardboard boxes in a former auto body shop in the Pacific Northwest until its discovery by a Seattle-based historian.
What a story, what a hero. Some people are just born for war. We should be grateful for their courage and share the pain with his father. Texas Monthly comes through again with this gem: A Texan Risked Everything to Defend Ukraine. So Did His Father.
Erik Giggleman was an elite Army soldier who went in search of a righteous struggle and found it in Ukraine. As his commitment deepened, his father confronted an excruciating truth: Either the conflict would end, or Erik would die fighting.
Heads up, you are warned. Start planning for this chapter: Americans Are in Denial About Elder Care. Many assume that if they can afford paid help in older age, they won’t need to rely on kin. They’re wrong.
For most of us, truly preparing for old age will mean getting much more comfortable with asking for help and offering it to those around us, regardless of whether we’re bound by blood or law. It will require thinking strategically and long in advance about where we live—and whom we live near. It will mean resisting the temptations of digital convenience and instead opting for human interaction. More than anything, it will mean accepting that we still need one another in a world that makes it all too alluring to act like we don’t.
Amazing photography: The 29 Finalists for Astronomy Photographer of the Year.
TRAVEL
Interesting suggestions: 6 Travel Podcasts to Inspire Your Next Trip.
I keep and regularly add many things on my Thailand list. Including a bunch of restaurants. And I gotta check this one out with the 52 year old pot of soup. And counting: The Family Keeping Watch Over a 52-Year-Old Pot of Soup. Anyone been here, is it a tourist trap? Thailand related entries in this section will be moving to a new separate section, see below.
Very interesting map: Countries With the Most Seniors. I knew Japan was going to be tops and I was surprised to see Monaco beating it. Still sobering to see Greece way up there as well. Other than Japan, every country on the list is in Europe!
2026 WORLD CUP
I am loving every single minute of this World Cup. I could do a daily post ranting endlessly about what happened the day before. But of course I don’t have the bandwidth to do that. Actually, I am shocked I have reached very deep within to find the bandwidth to bring you another Friday post. I must admit I thought that this World Cup will be a letdown. Due to the expanded format, the heat and the general distaste coming from this administration about the people of the countries participating. I found it absolutely awful how FIFA allowed the Iranian football team to be treated. Ok, again, not going to get into that and will instead focus on the positive. And there are so many to everyone’s surprise.
I just loved this: “DUDE LMAO THIS IS A GAS STATION”. Multiracial harmony, globalized joy, and love for America. The World Cup saves the 250th.
Sports can do this at their best: harness harmless, low-level tribalism to defang risky, high-level tribalism, using human nature to counter human nature. And this World Cup shows not only that there is nothing inevitable about deepening ethnic, religious, and national divides, but that with the right moment and the right inspiration, the human spirit can both channel and transcend them. Spectacularly.
Just 19 games left, will miss so much watching several WC games every day…
THAILAND
I am adding a new section to replace the Iran War section. Because I have been learning a lot about Thailand as we have been visiting for the past three years and visiting soon for the fourth year in a row. Needless to say we fell in love with the country and looking to spend more time in it. And possibly at some point retire there. Or at the very least spend a substantial amount of time in it. I think it would be ideal to spend three months in the US, three months in Thailand, three months in Greece and three months traveling around the world. So, in a way, this is the goal. We all need goals to strive for.
Over the past four years I have learned a lot about Thailand. Including all types of visas available to stay longer than 30 days (currently most tourists get a 60 day stamp entering the Kingdom soon to revert back to 30 days). This can be easily extended another 30 days. But after that, it gets more complicated because there are so many available visas to choose from. You can learn more about the visas at the Thai E-Visa Official Website.
After pondering all the different visa options, and of course considering that we are not moving there permanently in the near future (if ever), I decided to apply for the newish DTV visa, you can learn more about it HERE. It is basically a fairly easy and cheap 5 year tourist visa option that allows us to stay in the country for up to 6 months at a time which is of course way more than we will ever stay. At least for next several years. There are many other retirement type visas available and you can do this on your own. But for peace of mind I recommend using a visa agent to assist and after providing the necessary documents to them they go on and just take care of it. I used the services of Siam Legal and I have been very happy with them. I have my DTV visa on hand right now and I am good until 2031. My wife’s application as my dependent just went in and we await her approval as well. I can answer questions on the subject, please ask in the comments or email me directly. Priority is always given to readers who are supporting this blog over the years with credit card apps and coffees and the rare Paypal donation (thanks Brian!).
Over the past four years I have been following several Thailand based You Tubers and I am keeping notes of way too many places to check out (restaurants, places to visit/experience, condos, hangouts, rooftops, things to do, cafes, co-working spaces, shopping/malls, night markets, medical related and many more). I could probably start another blog or You Tube channel on the subject. Apparently, many Westerners are now vlogging on “how to retire in Thailand”, it is becoming a trend I guess. Of course I am not going to start another thing online, I am focusing on making my weekly blog posts the longest ever in the online universe LOL.
Ok, let’s move on to the subject of medical tourism. Which is one of the primary reasons I fell in love with Thailand. For several years after my running injury my US doctors have been trying to determine the cause. Numerous doctor visits and all kinds of tests. And after doing my own research and telling them that it appears I have peripheral neuropathy they insisted I do not and, well, more tests. And all these tests I had to wait to schedule a very long time. Last year I decided to check out the medical system in Thailand. After research I decided to schedule a full checkup at the Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok. Medical tourism is a big industry in Thailand and I can see why after my stellar experience. There are many packages to choose from. And here are the check up packages. Last year I went for the top of the line Comprehensive Vitality Program and this year I am doing the Holistic Male checkup (along with a food allergy comprehensive test and a full ear/audio test).
As part of my check up last year there was a consultation with a neurologist. Who took the time to really examine me and it did not take her long to confirm I do have the peripheral neuropathy condition. I felt relief to finally learn what the issues with my feet were all about. So I am now a big fan of the Thailand health care system and Bumrungrad and can’t wait for my checkup this year to see how I trended from last year. I see myself doing a comprehensive medical checkup every year. Best part about the experience is being able to see a specialist right away. If not the same day, the next day or two certainly.
Bumrungrad is considered tops in Thailand. And it comes with the highest cost considering the alternatives. And I am okay with that after my experience. Best part is that there is a Hyatt Place in Soi 21 that is almost connected to the hospital making it the ideal place to stay. Another hospital highly rated and cheaper is Samitivej Hospital. And another one up there is Bangkok Hospital.
Again, I can do my best answering any questions you may have.
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
So, here we go again…
It appears that Hyatt’s obsession with all inclusives is not slowing down. On the contrary: Hyatt Expands All-Inclusive Portfolio With First-Ever Park Hyatt & Grand Hyatt Resorts.
If you are into the Avios currency, this is good to know: Transferring Avios Between Accounts is Easy, But Beware of New Hurdles.
Rove continues to add partners. Ok, it is Frontier but still: Rove Adds Frontier Miles as Transfer Partner + 25% Transfer Bonus. If you find yourself excited about this partner and this transfer bonus you probably cried when Spirit Airlines went down?
TRAVEL REWARDS CREDIT CARDS
For ANY questions on travel rewards credit cards, contact me anytime at travelbloggerbuzz@gmail.com
What the hell has happened over at Chase Bank lately? It is like a knife in our backs that just gets deeper very slowly…and painfully: Chase Sapphire Reserve 1.20% Pay Yourself Back Categories: Gas, Public Transit & More (Q3 2026). So, this went down from 1.50% to 1.25% to 1.20% smh. And the Chase Sapphire Preferred is now down to 1.05% for public transit and 1.10% for pet supply stores & vet services, how insulting.
Very nice Amex improvement: American Express Adds Benefits Tracker (Coupon Tracker in the login).
100k CHASE SAPPHIRE PREFERRED REFRESH:
This card has become a no brainer for, well, almost everyone. Especially if you are new into this travel reward cards space and absolutely do not care about Hyatt points whatsoever. Let me explain why you should get this card. Well, most of my readers either have this card or can no longer get it again due to Chase Bank’s new severe restrictions eliminating us credit card miles/points enthusiasts. This IS a great card for someone starting out by the way. We all have it in my household and are definitely keeping it. Because for just $95 dollars annual fee you get:
- No foreign transaction fees
- Primary car rental insurance
- $100 Annual Hotel Credit. (This is per cardmember year, rather than calendar year. Must be booked through the Chase Travel Portal.)
- Card earns at the following rates:
- 5x on travel booked through the Chase Travel portal.
- 3x on Dining/Streaming Services/online grocery (excludes: excluding Target, Walmart and
wholesale clubs) - 3x on Gas/EV
- 3x on Airbnb, VRBO, Plum Guide, HomeAway, Homestay.com, and Vacasa
- 2x on other travel
- 1x on all other purchases
- 5x on Lyft rides through 9/30/27. 5x on Peloton purchases of $150+ through 12/31/27.
- $120 credit once every four years for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS.
- One time offer (not ongoing): Complimentary Apple TV subscription for one year when activated by December 31, 2026.
- Transferable points (reminder: Hyatt transfers are 4:3)
- Complimentary DashPass membership ($120 value) for 12 months. Plus, DashPass members get a $10 promo each month ($120 annually) to save on groceries, retail orders, and more.
- Chase 5/24 rule applies to this card
and of course for just $5,000 minimum spend in three months you get 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points! Even if you did not do much with the points and just cashed them out for a penny per point, it means you pocket $1,000. For an annual fee of $95 plus all the goodies above, DO THE MATH! Of course, you can transfer the points out to travel partners like United or Southwest or Hyatt and get way more than a penny per point. Yes, it is a bit more work but it can make this card even more valuable.
There are many places online you can use to apply for this card. For the love of God, do not use the links from The Points Guy or any other big outfit pretending to be “in the hobby” when they are a big business selling plastic for the banks. Maybe prefer a small independent blogger who is into this for the love of the game and been doing it for decades and would still be here most likely if banks stopped paying bloggers to sell plastic for them #hint. Anyway, email me with ANY questions, thank you for the support.
LATEST OFFERS:
CHASE Sapphire Reserve for Business: 200,000 Points Sign Up Bonus
CHASE INK Cash & INK Unlimited 100,000 Points Signup Bonus
100k CHASE Sapphire Reserve: $795 Annual Fee. Minimum spend $6,000 in three months
A whole bunch of new offers for Delta Skymiles, ENDING JULY 15.
90k AMEX Delta Skymiles Gold: Minimum spend is $5,000 over six months
100k AMEX Delta Skymiles Platinum: Minimum spend is $6,000 over six months
125k AMEX Delta Skymiles Reserve: Minimum spend is $9,000 over six months
90k AMEX Delta Skymiles Gold Business: Minimum spend is $6,000 over six months
100k AMEX Delta Skymiles Platinum Business: Minimum spend is $8,000 over six months
125k AMEX Delta Skymiles Reserve Business: Minimum spend is $15,000 over six months
150k AMEX Marriott Bonvoy Business PLUS $125 Statement Credit: $125 Annual fee, minimum spend $8,000 in the first six months. For more info on the card’s benefits click HERE. ENDING JULY 15.
125k CHASE Marriott Bonvoy Boundless + 1 Free Night: Minimum spend is $3,000 over three months.
As High As 200,000 Points on the AMEX Business Gold after spending $15k in the first three months
100,000 BANK OF AMERICA Atmos Summit after spending $6,500 in the first three months. And a 50% flight discount voucher
80,000 BANK OF AMERICA Atmos Ascent after spending $4,000 in the first four months. And a 50% flight discount voucher
85,000 BANK OF AMERICA Atmos Business after spending $5,500 in the first three months
75k CITI AAdvantage Business World Elite MasterCard
175k AMEX Platinum & 300k AMEX Business Platinum
75k CITI Strata Elite card
Due to credit card vendor restrictions, the only affiliate links I can place in the body of my posts are for Capital One cards. You can always email me at travelbloggerbuzz@gmail.com with ANY questions.
Please help the small independent blogs like mine continue to exist by supporting them with your CREDIT CARD clicks, thank you!
BONUS OFFERS NOTIFICATIONS
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MY ACTION AND BLOG BUZZING
The annual fee for my Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business card posted and I called the bank to close it. Before that I transferred all of the points to Hyatt (for the last hurrah I guess) except 800 points (transfers must be in 1,000 point increments). And because I wanted to transfer the credit limit before closing the CSR over to my trusty old Chase Ink Business Cash card. And I had one of the most inane conversations with a rep ever.
She barely tried to keep me after I did mention in passing about a retention bonus (knowing full well that this bank does not do this, I was just curious). And guess what her argument was? The Edit hotel credits. LOL. My reaction to this maybe was not very respectful towards the card so it went downhill from there. She refused to save my credit limit and came up with a “you can NOT move credit limits with pay as you go cards”. And I said, say what? We went back and forth with this and I learned more things. Apparently, the CSR and the crappy Ink Premier card are the only ones that do not allow transfers of credit limits. Of course, I then asked to speak to a supervisor. And she says I am a supervisor LOL. Yeah, I could have done the old hangup and call again routine. But I just enjoyed the back and forth. So I told her do not do anything and I will investigate and will call back later to close the card. Needless to say this was a first…I will update what happened here in the comments. Please let me know if this is a new policy (she insisted it was not).
I had a placeholder United business class award to get me to Bangkok, Thailand. Unfortunately, it is flying United across the Pacific and we all know that I could do better. Actually, it is United from Detroit to Chicago O’Hare to Tokyo Haneda and then on ANA to Bangkok. Some other award openings are VERY slowly trickling in from my PointsYeah alerts. Actually just this morning as I am typing to finish this post in time to post it by Friday 8 am EST I received another alert with an intriguing alternative: the old trusty Lufthansa Detroit to Frankfurt flight, then on to London Heathrow again on Lufthansa and then an EVA flight to Bangkok. And I intend to check to see if it is still there as soon as I publish this post. It gets me to Bangkok a day early and I can book me a one night stay at the Hyatt Regency at BKK airport to check it out and unwind/recover from jet lag. #Developing.
I have 21 Hyatt night credits to date. 19 nights booked in 2 Hyatt Place properties in Bangkok and then another 4 at the Park Hyatt in Saigon. And I do have six more nights to book after returning from Saigon to Bangkok and before heading to Singapore for a wedding. So it is very likely I am going to hit 50. And then I think what I am going to do is ramp up the spending on my Visa Hyatt card since we need to finish paying for the carpet and put down a 50% deposit on new furniture to finish a large home renovation. So I guess I am going to secure World of Hyatt Globalist again. Hopefully I make more use of it in 2027.
Maybe I add the Grand Hyatt Singapore after a friend told me that he loved his stay there after it was renovated. Any feedback? I do have one night booked via AMEX FHR at the Conrad Marina Bay and we do stay at a non chain hotel for a few nights courtesy of the wedding party.
Oh, I just saw that the newest Fairmont opened in Hanoi. And now I am thinking instead of returning to Bangkok from Saigon, maybe hop over to Hanoi to check out the city and this Fairmont. I was thinking to burn my Accor Lifetime Platinum complimentary annual night at the Fairmont Singapore which we love. But maybe we save it for Hanoi. These are first world problems you guys…
I ran out of time to post pics of our home renovation, maybe next time.
Paychecks from Ford have officially stopped. Wife loves not having any conference calls or projects due, she can’t stop smiling. I am focused on taking care of my clients so I can now pay for everything, sometimes I wonder about life without stress, lol.
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HOT CREDIT CARD OFFERS:
100k CHASE Sapphire Preferred, 100k CHASE Ink Cash, 100k CHASE Ink Unlimited, 200k CHASE Sapphire Reserve Business, 100k CHASE Sapphire Reserve, 75k CITI Strata Elite, 75k CAPITAL ONE Venture Rewards, 100k CHASE Ink Business Preferred, 175k AMEX Platinum, 75k CAPITAL ONE Venture X, 300k AMEX Business Platinum, 200k AMEX Business Gold, 200k CAPITAL ONE Spark Cash Plus, 100k BofA Alaska Atmos Summit, 80k BofA Alaska Atmos Ascent, 85k BofA Alaska Atmos Business, 30k CHASE United Gateway, 100k AMEX Gold, 15k AMEX Blue Business Plus and many more!
As of today, I have burned 619,515 miles/points year to date (after burning 1,893,248 miles/points in 2025 and 2,027,816 in 2024) and have 4,186,131 miles/points in the bank.
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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Correction (for the ones reading this via email):
In the conversation with the Chase rep attempting to transfer my CSR credit limit to my Ink Cash card, I forgot to add the important word “NOT” in this:
“you can NOT move credit limits with pay as you go cards”
Just ran out of time proof reading the post, sorry had to stay up way too late to watch Switzerland vs Algeria in the World Cup!
Well. After the alarm went off (and I have no idea why I set it to start with) I thought only 5 minutes went by before I got out of bed. Apparently I cannot tell time or fell back asleep so I am quite late reading this today, or at least skimming it as I read a bit of all the articles over 3-4 days at least. Looks like good stuff and I loves me those Ponzi reports even though it is all insane what happens.
Good pic of you on the walk, too, George! I’ve been trying to work on a plan for a trip and it just gets tougher to do. Man, getting old is not fun. The heart treatment I got last week seems to be working out ok and I had a one week check-up and they said all looks good.
Thanks for bringing all this together week after week! It’s always good stuff and fun. Have a great Fourth of July!
I miss those A2 trails. P2 went to medical school there and I visited monthly. I never competed the mythical “Loop” that local off road cyclists used to talk about.
It’s 99 degrees here. What are the best credit cards for buying a cool, refreshing drink?
Happy 250th America!
If you are at 50 you have to go for 60. Would be crazy not to. Hmm will have to take a look at that Thai visa as we have the Thailand in our back pocket for more time in retirement.
Tahiti anyone have any thoughts or recommendations? We booked redemption flights for Christmas but that is as far as my planning has advanced. At this time I am thinking of cancelling as we are not lay by the pool and drink cocktail people and given the prices I am not enthused to make the trip.
How much did Siam Legal charge for the DTV? There’s a dedicated DTV Facebook group with really good info – the overwhelming majority self applied. Could have saved some bucks?
I’m not sure if I can pull it off but can you email me a BOA Atmos biz referral for my wife?
Yesterday we witnessed a historic performance by the tiny island nation of Cape Verde in its first World Cup. Playing against World Club champions Argentina and in Messi’s home court in Miami. It is hard to describe what happened, there are no words really. They took the Argentinians to the brink of elimination in 120+ minutes of standing up and sometimes out playing them. And out hustling them. Heck, Messi’s payroll is worth more than the payrolls of the whole Cape Verde WC delegation, I mean, everyone! And that tying 2-2 goal should be the goal of the tournament, period that will live forever in our memories. Cape Verde made a statement, a team that plays together and fights to the last breath has nothing to fear. And they made a lot of fans around the world, hats off to them. Argentina was lucky to survive it. Spain and Uruguay, former World Club champions, could not beat them in 90 minutes. This team did not lose to three WC champions in 90 minutes, I mean, wow.
And the grace they showed, the togetherness….
Just something special, thank you Cape Verde, forever in our hearts.
@ Carl: Good to hear about the heart procedure, keep it going.
@ Sean W: Yeah, plenty of beautiful trails in Ann Arbor, we still love it here.
@ NickPFD: I am sure someone is working on that piece over at The Points Guy. They are running of sales ideas, I am still waiting for that piece “Best credit cards for funerals”, starting with “I recently lost my mother and I was thrown into this very uncomfortable position to pay for a funeral and I pulled out my ____________ (enter card with the highest sales commission) to maximize the points from this purchase and I just wanted to bring this to you next time you lose a parent blah blah blah”.
@ Vicky: Definitely going for Globalist because I have enough expenses to bang about 6 or 8 night credits at the next Hyatt Visa closing statement. This will be the last batch of home renovation expenses, at least I get some pleasure earning some points on this spend 🙂
Regarding Tahiti islands: I think of them as a bit lower $ compared to Maldives. And not much to do other than lay by the pool (preferably over the water bungalow) and drink cocktails. I must say we loved Moorea island many years ago, back in SPG days. I am sure everything has changed by now. And I must admit I loved Papeete and mixing it up with the locals.
@ Mo: Could I do the DTV visa myself? Yeah. But I am okay with peace of mind at this point in my life and wanted to establish a relationship with a firm doing this full time because I intend to eventually graduate out of this Visa to something more concrete. When I would need a lot more hand holding and expertise advice. I uploaded the documents from Siam Legal’s list and that was it basically; I had zero interactions with the Thai evisa folks at all, SL took care of it and just emailed me the approved Visa. I expect many Thailand visa changes are in the works and I just wanted to get them quickly and counting on being grandfathered. I think SL’s fees were $400 for mine and $200 for my wife. It is what it is, don’t feel bad for me. If you do, how about a travel rewards credit card? Lol.
@ Christian: I emailed you. Tough break for us and BofA, you never know what crumbs we get.
Back to the World Cup today with four days of 2 games each to get to the Final 8 and the quarterfinals.
@TBB – I am glad that this one-man operation continues long beyond many of the blogs you covered when you started, perhaps will last even when there are no other points blogs left.
Thanks for the comment, yeah, I can’t believe I am still at it. It is like my blog is the Last of the Mohicans in blog sphere. Everyone moving to video form lately as our attention spans keep getting shorter.
Lost another email list subscriber last week. And Sunday’s blog traffic stats email revealed my lowest blog traffic ever. Why do I keep doing this? I don’t know, I have issues lol.
Have fun in Bangkok, I will be there in late August and September. Too early for ETF.
George, thanks for the info on Tahiti, we have decided to pivot and do Malaysia where we have never been so Park Hyatt KL appears to be the go. Any other Malaysian destination you would suggest pairing with KL? Figure we will do the train back to Singapore and have a few nights at the GH Singapore and get the counter ticking for 2027 qualification.
After experiencing 0 degrees celcius last night I think we are going to do the DTV and will use Siam Legal. These days we are willing to pay someone else to do the hard yards so we can focus on other things that require our attention.
Malaysia: Depends on what you are into. Many do Penang, it is an interesting island with a sizeable expat community. Malacca for history stuff. Ipoh for food. Eastern part of Malaysia is all nature stuff. Langkawi island has some interesting resorts and way less expensive than Maldives or Tahiti.
Wife’s DTV application as dependent was just submitted by the Siam Legal folks. Very smooth so far.
We were just invited again to stay with relatives in Singapore so the only hotel night we can do with our own points arsenal is one night at the Conrad Marina Bay courtesy mostly of wife’s Schwab Amex Platinum.
Thanks for all the effort you put in!
The Manhoff Archives look absolutely wonderful. That will take much study!
Running a Ponzi on the basis of avocados shows considerable imagination if nothing else.
Looking forward to the report on your adventures in medical tourism!
Sometimes I go back and reread my post. And I must admit that the Manhoff Archives link I found is one of the best finds in the history of my blog. I spent more time clicking around and wow, amazing!
This medical tourism in Bangkok seems to have much appeal to readers. Maybe when I get finally canned by my credit card vendor due to low cc sales this blog evolves again to Thailand expat related content.
Yesterday’s Mexico – England game was one of those instant World Cup classics. And good riddance to Brazil. And get ready for USA vs Belgium tonight after watching another Spain vs Portugal battle. After tomorrow’s games we are down to the final 8 teams and I think USA can be one of them.
Anchelotti….. I did not understand Brazil’s tactics. Why let Norway have 67% ball possession? Norway ain’t that good with the ball. What’s Brazil’s future in soccer?
Interesting podcast about AI,”AI-generated content, bots, algorithms, the “dead internet theory,” and why so much of the web now feels artificial, manipulated, or unreal. ”
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/on-with-kara-swisher/id1643307527?i=1000775618138
There are some showings like Brazil and USA. We can attribute them to a really bad day at the office but, at the end of the day, it may have more to do with the fact that they were not good enough teams to advance. Which is a pity against Norway and Belgium. Yeah, I thought Anchelotti will take this very subpar Brazilian further but he failed spectacularly…I think Brazil is closer to Germany’s future…but not Italy’s 🙂
I bookmarked that podcast, thanks.
As someone with a 2005 Mustang convertible, a 2014 Flex & a 2025 F150 in the garage, thank her for a job well done!
I will, thank you. We drive Ford products in my household. I LOVE driving my 2019 Flex, I dread the day I will say goodbye to this vehicle.
Greetings from Matsuyama, Japan. I’ve been slacking on my Blog reading with the world cup going on. Congrats to the wife on retirement and on getting the DTV. I was thinking about just going the Muay Thai DTV route but with super el nino in play, it might be a short trip to thailand next year as I assume the smoke will be terrible for burning season next year. Da Nang might get be more in play for an extended stay instead. Or even in Japan the way the yen has been getting hammered. Though I bet Japan immigration will start looking at me the way Thai immigration does with the amount of Japanese passport stamps in my new passport.
Guess Vicky already cancelled here tahiti plans, but I was there last September. Moorea was a lot better than Papeete. Papeete might as well just have been a French Honolulu. Moorea was much, much rural but really needed a car to get around and see it properly. Didn’t make it to Bora Bora. For Malaysia, Penang for sure. I liked it better than KL, which just felt like an even more sprawled Bangkok. The Cameron highlands are supposed to be nice if you time it right avoiding the rain season.
I really liked Papeete for the local city vibes only 🙂 Definitely need a car in Moorea, loved driving around the island. We still remember how we bought a rotisserie type chicken from one of several food trucks by the side of the road and then proceeded to eat it on the beach right behind the truck. That chicken was so delicious, imported from Australia lol. Wife should have her own DTV as my spouse dependent in the next day or two. Muay Thai DTV never crossed my mind 🙂
Bob, Thanks for your input. Being an ex Honolulu resident makes me hesitant to visit similar locations, looking for something with a bit of difference. Cameron Highlands, that’s a good one as the disappearance of Jim Thompson in that area has always fascinated me however it is rainy season in December with possible mudslides so might make hikes a bit miserable. Hmm Penang seems like it could be a winner.
I will respond to the latest comments and emails later today. After I take some time to reflect from that ass beating Belgium delivered to the US. I thought Trump had done one good thing to get that red card reversed and, oh boy, did we piss off the Belgians and the entire world or what? Just everything went wrong from the start. You can’t make such huge mistakes at this level. I can not explain it, I mean, this was just an atrocious performance all around. I think the team hit its upper ceiling with the Round of 16 obviously. But we had such a great opportunity to break through facing a Belgium team that should not even been here after Senegal imploded in the final few minutes of the previous game. And we just totally blew it. And disappointed so many fans after raising our hopes. I knew our defense was lacking but dear God, with slow Ream at the back you just can’t expect that much. And our goalie had a great WC but that HUGE mistake to go down 3-1 and basically sealing the loss was inexcusable. And our stars disappeared. And coaching hit the ceiling as well.
At the end of the day, USA had a great WC. 3 wins and Round of 16. Just sucks it had to end in such an awful way.
I am still in awe about that Mexico England game, what an instant classic. 2nd best WC moment after that epic Cape Verde vs Argentina game.
I hope Egypt can imitate Cape Verde and knock out the defending champs. And good luck to Colombia as well to get to the Final 8.
Can’t wait for France vs Morocco, could have been the final.
Good riddance to pathetic Brazil. I thought Anchelotti alone could take them further. We all now know Japan was so disappointed because they knew they blew it barely losing to this bad Brazil team. And WTF was that from Paraguay huh? Ban them, I like how France laughed them off, this is how to handle intimidation.
94 games down, just 10 to go.
I think the US should be grateful they lost that game as the rest of the world despises the corruption of FIFA and the orange felon to interfere in the referee’s decision whether the red card be right or wrong. If you had of gotten through you would have been labeled cheats and next round USA would have faced a lot of animosity from fans all over the world. Seems like USA played knowing that. We don’t even follow soccer but once we knew the USA was getting thrashed we switched on the TV to watch the last few minutes and rejoice. I feel sorry for the dude at the center of the controversy as it was not of his doing but he had a lot of class going over to the Belgian after the US lost.
Breaking: Cairo celebrations have been canceled 🙁
Hey Buzz,
Just got back to the USA in time to see that Mexico England game. Incredible intensity.
And in time to watch Canada and the USA lay some rotten eggs, ouch.
Got to watch the 2nd half of Egypt Argentina…wow.
Egypt are kicking themselves.
Gonna miss the next game but I’m expecting more fireworks next round.
Great post as always, thanks again Buzz, enjoy the game!
No World Cup games today…so strange lol.
Went for another stab at my own Schwab Amex Platinum card and another pop up jail popped up, boo. So I then proceeded to book me 2 nights at the Kromo hotel in Bangkok, part of Curio Collection in the Hilton Honors program for $306.64 to claim the $300 semiannual The Hotel Collection credit. And looking forward to eat/drink the $100 property credit that comes with it. Take that Amex!
Will respond to the comments most likely tomorrow.
It just hit me today…Maybe it was the final bill from the contractor. Or the first COBRA health insurance invoice. And the final carpet invoice and half down for the new furniture. Most likely a combination.
I have spent hours on tomorrow’s post which is likely the longest ever. It is the 2nd post this month. And blog revenue month to date is $0. And have lost one email list subscriber and one Instagram follower. And last Sunday my weekly blog traffic email revealed the slowest blog traffic ever!
I need to join my wife in retirement bliss you guys…
The end is near.
#nth version of this I know. One day I will walk away. Sometimes I wish my cc vendor kicks me out so it can finally happen, come on!
Enjoy tomorrow’s post.
Change is coming.