Another TBB post featuring the most eclectic links around the web such as Warren Buffett life lessons, dirty Crypto billions, AI jobs, the best dive bars, Thailand trip updates, cancerous short form video, illiquid investments, more on the AI bubble, Mariupol devastation, saving loved ones from cults, the most annoying people at the airport, 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. Have a great weekend!
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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.
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BLOG HOUSEKEEPING
This is truly a one man labor of love operation, enjoy it while it lasts.
Hello from Koh Samui, Thailand. I am posting frequent trip updates in Instagram. And YouTube when I get around to it.
Update: I got one of those phone calls from Greece you dread early on Thanksgiving Day. The father of the nephew whose wedding we attended in September in Kefalonia island in Greece died suddenly from a heart attack, he was only 57 years old. And just like that we are all devastated and I make no promises if this blog will appear here next Friday. Wishing good health to everyone. For some strange reason I expected something shocking to come from Greece. In last week’s post the quote of the week was “Grief is the price we pay for love”…indeed.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“There are two kinds of forecasters. those who don’t know, and those who don’t know they don’t know” – John Kenneth Galbraith
MUST READ GEMS
I agree with this article: Short form video is a cancer of the mind. If you don’t yet feel disgust when you see people (or yourself) watching SFV, you should. Here’s some research if you need it.
SFV use is linked to poorer cognitive performance
Frequent exposure to fast-paced, highly rewarding SFV content may rewire attention systems
SFV use is associated with poorer overall mental health
Heavy SFV use reinforces impulsive engagement loops driven by dopamine rewards
Short-form video consumption is associated with poorer sleep quality
Higher SFV use correlates with increased loneliness and reduced life satisfaction
Negative effects occur across both youth and adults
PERSONAL FINANCE
This probably does not belong in this section but since it involves Warren Buffett I am inserting it here: 10 Things We Can Learn From Warren Buffett That Have Nothing to Do With Money. Life lessons from the Oracle of Omaha as he retires as Berkshire Hathaway’s CEO.
1. Be kind.
2. Have integrity.
3. Practice patience.
4. Use caution.
5. Be positive.
6. Think independently.
7. Exhibit humility.
8. Be content.
9. Value continuity.
10. Practice gratitude.
In my career in finance, I have been approached numerous times to invest personally and for my clients. In all kinds of shit. And there is an incredible amount of horrific “investments” pumped by sketchy characters and/or big institutions solely designed to maximize profits…for them. And buyers are the product financing these profits. So, always be alert and don’t bother. Especially when it comes to illiquid assets. Like the author of this article realized: The One Thing My Worst Investments Had in Common.
Illiquidity can be brutal
And be careful when you see all this “let’s democratize private equity investments” in your 401k retirement plan ok?
So, how does private equity get out of this jam? They have two options:
- Gradually re-price their investments to fair market value.
- Sell to unsuspecting investors at current prices.
Guess which one they’re going to go with? You guessed it—sell to unsuspecting investors at current prices.
If you have fallen for shiny products sold by YieldMax, you must read this article: There’s a Word for That. Remember, some entities are just all about marketing.
CRYPTO/TECH/SCAMS
More warnings: How Crypto Could Trigger the Next Financial Crisis. The danger of stablecoins lies in the ways they are meant to be safe.
In a free country, the government will not get too deeply in the way of speculation. You want to go long on tulip futures with your own money? Nobody should stop you. Danger flares only when speculators speculate with other people’s money. That’s what stablecoin issuers seek to do—and what the GENIUS Act encourages. The Trump administration and a pliant Congress have lit a fuse to America’s next financial catastrophe. Unless that fuse is snipped, the explosion will be only a matter of time. [Or the author could be wrong, nobody knows.]
“Law enforcement can’t cope with the overwhelming amount of illicit activity in the space,” said Julia Hardy, a co-founder of zeroShadow, a crypto investigations firm. “It can’t go on like this.” [Been saying this for years…and so far it can smh]
AI
Last week we had Google take the lead and this week we have a new leader: Introducing Claude Opus4.5.
Take in the AI bubble discourse and something becomes clear: Those who have the most to gain from artificial intelligence spending never slowing are proclaiming that critics who fret about an over-hyped investment frenzy have it all wrong.
I am a product of American higher education. Who decided to stay here and become an American. And we have befriended several others on the same boat. Including Chinese. And I need to tell you that this benefited the whole country, not to brag. Anyway, we must not turn them away! In the A.I. Race, Chinese Talent Still Drives American Research. Although some Silicon Valley executives paint China as the enemy, Chinese brains continue to play a major role in U.S. research. But I am afraid the ship may have sailed sadly.
“The U.S. A.I. industry is the biggest beneficiary of Chinese talent,” said Matt Sheehan, an analyst who helped write both studies. “It gets so many top-tier researchers from China who come to work in the U.S., study in the U.S. and, as this study shows, stay in the U.S., despite all the tensions and obstacles that have been thrown at them in recent years.”
Something to ponder:
ODDZ & ENDZ
Food for thought: The Decline of Deviance. Where has all the weirdness gone? Some of the graphs are eye-opening. I am doing my part with this blog to keep the weirdness going…I think.
This screams war crimes: Building on Ruins. The Russification of Mariupol, One Apartment Block at a Time. Amazing investigative piece.
I had no idea that this was an actual occupation. As in cult interventionists. I hope you never have to hire them to save your child from one of those too many weird cults out there. Fascinating read: How do the pros get someone to leave a cult? Manipulate them into thinking it was their idea.
I have some photography links in the queue for a while, here are two of them:
50 Unedited Photos So Confusing They Don’t Look Real
62 Modern Tree Houses Climb to Architectural Heights
TRAVEL
When in Rome, people do the Colosseum and Sistine Chapel, how about this one? A peek inside the Colonna Palace, Rome’s most exclusive tourist site.
If you are into bars: Best dive bars in America? Locally loved spots worth the road trip.
This made me smile and I am sure this will happen to you: The 7 Most Annoying People You’ll Meet at the Airport — and How to Deal With Them. I think the absolute worst is: The One Watching a Movie Without Headphones.
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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. I am enjoying the fruits of my hobby from the Koh Samui Hyatt Regency, fresh from the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok and off tomorrow to the magnificent Conrad Koh Samui. Ahead we have The Standard and the Park Hyatt in Bangkok and we finish off another epic trip with the Park Hyatt in Kuala Lumpur. I feel so blessed, thank you God and Chase bank lol.
I guess I am not going to be waiting to book awards with United at the last minute any longer, boo! United Raises the Price of Close-in Award Travel.
As expected, more is coming out on the mega Marriott – Sonder debacle: Inside Marriott’s Disastrous Bet on Short-Term Rental Company Sonder. Can’t believe a company with this business model existed for so long. And managed to trick Marriott and take it for a ride. Some people and companies just excel in marketing hot air. Like the cofounder who still managed to buy a house for $9 million and then exited the company with over $2.2 million package only to have the audacity to post this in Linkedin WTF!
“I’m a builder at heart,… I thrive in the early stages of company formation, when growth and customer experience are the top objectives.” [Up yours!]
TRAVEL REWARDS CREDIT CARDS
Chase is now expanding the hurt on us, first it was the no annual fee Ink cards and now the Ink Business Preferred too (along with the other business cards as well), boo! Chase INK Preferred Business Card Now Includes Once-Per-Lifetime Language.
Note, there is no cross-over between the INK Preferred card and the INK Cash/Unlimited cards: if you’ve gotten the INK Preferred you can still get either the INK Cash or INK Unlimited. If you’ve gotten the INK Cash/Unlimited you can still get the INK Preferred.
Here is more detailed info on the new reality with Chase business cards: Chase Ink: New Bonus Eligibility Rules Defined.
If you want an Ink Unlimited or Ink Cash, you are *likely* to get the bonus popup saying that you can have the card but not the bonus offer if you have ever had an Ink Cash or Ink Unlimited. Ouch.
Meanwhile, for the 3 annual fee business cards, the bonus is “per product,” so you should be able to get the bonus on all three, but then just once per lifetime.
Just left everything the same from last week the cc offers below, fyi. Not that it makes any difference in clicks anyway…
NEW OFFERS:
CAPITAL ONE Spark Cash Plus: Earn a $2,000 cash bonus when you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months. Earn an additional $2,000 bonus for every $500,000 spent in the first year. To learn more about the card read this.
100k CAPITAL ONE Venture X: 100,000 points after $10k minimum spend in first six months. $395 annual fee less $300 travel credit less $100 (for 10,000 points on each anniversary). The card that still pays you $5 to carry it in your wallet. It was the #1 card offer at 75,000 so now it is offered for 100,000. Of course the minimum spend is $6,000 higher than the 75k offer, you can’t have everything in life. See detailed description below. Click on the link, it takes you straight to the application, the only bank I am allowed to link directly to my affiliate links, thanks for your support.
200k/400k CAPITAL ONE Venture X Business: Almost identical as the personal Venture X. But higher signup bonuses and higher minimum spend requirements. 200k points for $30k spend in first three months and a whopping 400k points for an equally whopping $150k spend in the first six months. Click on the link, it takes you straight to the application, the only bank I am allowed to link directly to my affiliate links, thanks for your support.
$250k Chase Amazon Prime Visa: At $250 gift card, it is the highest signup bonus. No minimum spend. No annual fee. Requires Amazon Prime membership. Earns 5% on Amazon, Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods. Even earns 5% on travel purchases at the Chase travel portal. 2% on gas, restaurants and local transit and commuting. 1% on everything else. Earns 10% Prime bonus on rotating Amazon products and categories. No foreign transaction fees. It appears the Chase 5/24 restriction does not apply to this card. But getting it will add to your 5/24 count, so beware. This is for people who just spend a lot on Amazon and Whole Foods, I should get it myself but these Chase 5/24 slots are oh so precious…
EXPIRING OFFERS:
We now have the refreshed AMERICAN EXPRESS Platinum & Business Platinum Cards ($895 Fee, 175k/200k Bonus, Many New Credits).
The Signup Bonus offers remain the dreaded “Up to 175,000 points” for the personal card. And a solid 200,000 points for the Business card.
125k CHASE Sapphire Reserve/200k CHASE Sapphire Reserve for Business
Chase raised the Signup Bonus to 125,000 from 100,000 points. 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.
Southwest always has new offers it appears, here we go again: Chase Southwest Personal Cards: 85,000 Points Signup Bonus. For $3k minimum spend in three months.
New card: CITI AAdvantage Globe Card Launches With 90,000 Points Bonus ($350 Fee). The minimum spend to earn the 90,000 AA miles is $5,000 within the first 4 months of account opening. The card earns 6x on AAdvantage Hotel bookings, 3x on AA purchases, 2x on restaurants, 2x on rides and rails and 1x on everything else. First checked bag free and preferred boarding. AA companion certificate (after the first year) for $99 plus fees and taxes. $240 credit on Turo at $30 per quarter, $100 credit on inflight purchases, $100 credit on Splurge (up to two merchants from 1st Dibs, eligible AAdvantage Hotels, Future Personal Training, or Live Nation). 4 Admirals Club lounge passes every year. $120 Global Entry/TSAPreCheck every four years. No foreign transaction fees. If you are looking for a link please email me.
Citi now offers the 100k CITI Strata Elite card after $6,000 minimum spend. This is Citi’s premium card at a $595 annual fee. $300 annual hotel credit, $200 annual Splurge credits, $200 annual Blacklane credit, 4 annual American Airlines Admirals Club lounge passes, Priority Pass Select membership and $120 Global Entry/TSA Precheck credit. Earning structure is: 12x points per dollar spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on cititravel.com, 6x points per dollar spent on Air Travel booked on cititravel.com, 6x points per dollar spent at restaurants on Citi Nights purchases, Friday and Saturday from 6 PM – 6 AM EST, 3x points per dollar spent at Restaurants any other time, 1.5x points per dollar spent on All Other Purchases. Points can now be transferred out to American Airlines. This card is a Mastercard. There is a $145 discount off the annual fee if you are a Citigold customer or have a Private Client relationship (requires over $200k with Citi). Citi Private Clients get the first annual fee waived. Citi is not an easy bank to deal with so beware. If you are looking for a link please email me.
American Express just came in with elevated offers on all four Hilton Honors cards, they all END 1/14/2026:
– Honors: 100,000 points after $2,000 spend in six months
– Surpass: 155,000 points after $3,000 spend in six months
– Aspire: 175,000 points after $6,000 spend in six months
– Business: 175,000 points after $8,000 spend in six months
And Chase just elevated this offer:
Chase Marriott Boundless 125,000 Points + Free Night Certificate (up to 50,000 points) after $3,000 in six months
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, they never stop, love it.
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.
CITI Strata No Annual Fee 30,000 Thank You points
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.
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 100K CAPITAL ONE Venture X card has a minimum spend of $6k in the first six 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. And hotels and car rentals booked on the travel portal earn 10 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. Up to $100 statement credit for Global Entry/TSAPre every four years. 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 now standing at 51 World of Hyatt night credits this year after the 10 nights posted from the Hyatt Place Bangkok Soi 1, the 3 nights from the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok and the 1 night for gifting son a Globalist Guest of Honor cert. I have emails from Hyatt to choose my Milestone Rewards for 40 nights and also 50 nights. I am going to hold off claiming them at the very last moment so I can extend the expiration dates of the certs I am going to choose.
Another three night credits coming from our current stay at the Koh Samui Hyatt Regency, three at the Bangkok Park Hyatt, one at The Standard Bangkok and two at the Kuala Lumpur Park Hyatt. In between I have 2 nights coming from gifting son Globalist Guest of Honor certs as well. And I think I may have another two night credits from the Chase Hyatt Visa spend. So, I think I am going to most likely cancel my 3 night reservation at the Hyatt Place in Flint, Michigan in mid December booked months ago in case I needed it to hit Globalist.
Burned another 15,000 World of Hyatt points for son + 1 to stay another three nights back at the Bangkok Hyatt Place Soi 1 hotel. And gifted him another Globalist Guest of Honor cert so they can enjoy the free breakfast.
Ask me any question about the Hyatt hotels in Thailand, it appears I am on target to hit them all.
Need to cut this short, I already spent way too much time away from my family. So, some links from our trip I barely keep posting:
Grand Suite in the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok
Breakfast at the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok
Video of Grand Suite in the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok
Video of breakfast in the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok
More pics from the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok
Private cooking class for wife & daughter at the Grand Hyatt Erawan
Reddit AMA Thread about the Koh Samui Hyatt Regency
Just a few pics from the trip so far, see more on Instagram posts above. Falling behind on posting and after the family death I certainly don’t feel like it 🙁
I DO have a separate page listing my affiliate links HERE for: Rakuten and Top Cash Back and more.
I am giving myself a challenge to average 5 credit card sales and 15 Buy Me a Coffee sales per month.
September:
Credit card sales: 3 Buy me a Coffee sales: 18
October:
Credit card sales: 7 Buy me a Coffee sales: 12
November to date:
Credit card sales: 4 Buy me a Coffee sales: 19
HOT CREDIT CARD OFFERS:
200k CHASE Sapphire Reserve Business, 125k CHASE Sapphire Reserve, 100k CITI Strata Elite, 175k AMEX Platinum, 100k CAPITAL ONE Venture X, 100k CAPITAL ONE Spark Cash, 200k/400k CAPITAL ONE Venture X Business, 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, 100k CHASE Air Canada Aeroplan, 15k AMEX Blue Business Plus and many more!
As of today, I have burned 1,847,748 miles/points year to date (2,027,816 in 2024) and have 3,844,650 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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