Another TBB post featuring the most eclectic links around the web such as bubbles and inflation, the current state of AI, happy retirement, rethinking Chase along with everything, AI jargon and NotebookLM, the Reiner family tragedy, wild births scam, best Christmas light displays, 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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BLOG HOUSEKEEPING
This is truly a one man labor of love operation, enjoy it while it lasts.
Hello from Brooklyn at New York City.
I am going to start posting my annual Best of Lists posts next week. I still have not decided if I should start dropping them every Tuesday while keeping the Friday posts going. I could use a break around here, we shall see.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Everyone driving slower than you is an idiot, and everyone driving faster than you is a maniac!” – George Carlin
MUST READ GEMS
I know, I know, not another story on that mega piece of shit Jeffrey Epstein. But this is the best investigative job to date on this guy and I found it worthy to place it in this section. This all makes sense now how this guy got wealthy smh: Scams, Schemes, Ruthless Cons: The Untold Story of How Jeffrey Epstein Got Rich.
PERSONAL FINANCE
Please ignore all the stock market predictions that are rampant in the media these days. They are all worthless bullshit, you are welcome.
I enjoy the writing of Howard Marks. Even though I may not agree with him often. I wish I could write as simply elegantly like him. I should start by holding off on lols and exclamation marks…LOL. Ok, let’s get serious. What’s on our minds lately: Is It a Bubble?
Memories are short, and prudence and natural risk aversion are no match for the dream of getting rich on the back of a revolutionary technology that “everyone knows” will change the world.
For AI infrastructure, the warning signs are flashing: vendor financing proliferates, coverage ratios thin, and hyperscalers leverage balance sheets to maintain capex velocity even as revenue momentum lags. We see both sides – genuine infrastructure expansion alongside financing gymnastics that recall the 2000 telecom bust. The boom may yet prove productive, but only if revenue catches up before credit tightens. When does healthy strain become systemic risk? That’s the question we must answer before the market does. [Classic Howard…he never answers the question directly. Anyway, time will tell as it always does]
There is no doubt that investors are applying exuberance with regard to AI. The question is whether it’s irrational. Given the vast potential of AI but also the large number of enormous unknowns, I think virtually no one can say for sure…Since no one can say definitively whether this is a bubble, I’d advise that no one should go all-in without acknowledging that they face the risk of ruin if things go badly. But by the same token, no one should stay all-out and risk missing out on one of the great technological steps forward.
All the dates you need to know are here, this is great: The Most Important Ages in Retirement Planning.
Since inflation has been in the news lately, this is a great chart found here: Maybe the Fed should aim for 3% instead. Is 3% inflation the new 2%?
CRYPTO/TECH/SCAMS
If this can happen to him, what makes you certain it won’t happen to you or a loved one? Must read, share it with your parents perhaps? Tech Support Scammers Stole $85,000 From Him. His Bank Declined to Refund Him. A retired lawyer lost the money in a tech support scam, a type of online fraud that is surging. Citibank said it couldn’t recover the funds, which criminals wired from inside his account. Yep, Citibank. Definitely not shocked Citibank’s IT came through once again smh.
Americans over age 60 lost roughly $982 million last year to tech support scams alone, one of the more lucrative frauds, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. That figure is up 66 percent from 2023, but it’s still just a fraction of the estimated $16.6 billion cybercriminals took in 2024 overall, up 33 percent from the year before, and widely viewed as an under representation since so much fraud goes unreported. Many criminals move the stolen money using crypto or wire transfers, a method that carries weaker consumer protections than other electronic transfers made through online banking platforms. [Crypto, the killer app…for fraudsters!]
Remember that guy who tricked Netflix to pay him $11 million to make a sci-fi series and then…you won’t believe what he did with the money next. Director Found Guilty in Netflix Fraud Trial. Carl Rinsch lost millions of dollars in risky securities trades, made that money back in cryptocurrency investments and used the profits for a luxury spending spree.
Instead, Rinsch transferred the money, wired to his production banner, to his personal brokerage account. In less than two months, he lost more than half of the funds on seven-figure options trades before spending the remainder on cryptocurrency. Rinsch proceeded to turn a profit, and a $10 million spending spree followed. He spent roughly $3.8 million on furniture and antiques, including nearly $1 million on two mattresses and linens, $2.4 million on five Rolls-Royces and a Ferrari, and $650,000 on watches, among other things, according to the indictment. [Added the bold font for emphasis…$1 million in just two mattresses and linens…WTF!]
AI
Fantastic recap of where we stand in the AI world: A whistle-stop tour of the state of Artificial Intelligence.
If 2023 was the year it announced itself on the global stage, and 2024 was the year it started to take a leading role, then 2025 has been the year that AI really began calling the shots — whether we like it or not. The technology’s progress has driven the economy, powered the stock market, dictated political discourse, flamed the trade tensions between the US and China, encroached on the art world, infiltrated nearly all of our devices, and influenced the algorithms that decide what we watch, read, love, and hate.
We are all learning new words related to AI. So, here is a primer: The Idiot’s Guide to AI Jargon. Starts with the word of the year and…adds more.
AI Slop: We’ve all seen it by now, with our social media feeds clogged up with low-effort videos, images, and illustrations cooked up by AI models like Sora. The latest genre of awful to emerge from this hellscape of content is fake recipes, which have flooded the internet in the lead-up to Thanksgiving. [You don’t have to ever wonder or fear that this blog will have any slop, I despise it]
Google’s NotebookLM has gotten even better, wow. This is an excellent primer of it: NotebookLM: The Complete Guide. The Most Useful Free AI Tool of 2025.
ODDZ & ENDZ
We all felt the Reiner family tragedy dealing with their son and his addiction, so super sad: Nick Reiner’s Struggle Has Long Been Under a Spotlight.
Some wildly inadequate awful people find a niche and target market to make something of themselves in a very harmful way. Using social media, not shocking. And this story is just wild: Influencers made millions pushing ‘wild’ births – now the Free Birth Society is linked to baby deaths around the world. A year-long investigation reveals how mothers lost children after being radicalised by uplifting podcast tales of births without midwives or doctors. Then again I think about the people falling for this crap and wonder if humanity is doomed sometimes. I can assure you the target market of this blog will never ever fall for shit like this, come on!
Amazing: Size of Life. Sit down and click, wow.
Darts looks like so much fun, amazing shots: Inside the World Darts Championships in London, in photos.
TRAVEL
This is relevant these days: The Best Christmas Light Displays in Every State. I had never heard of the one in my state of Michigan.
Some interesting places in this list: The 20 Best Places to Travel in 2026. Such as Uruguay and Philadelphia of all places. Oh, Komodo Islands in Indonesia looks amazing.
Very interesting list: The World’s Most and Least Stressed Cities.
And finally the Bangkok Andaz opened its doors!
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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.
Nice summary, register if you have paid hotel stays ahead: The best hotel bonus promotions.
I always scan these posts to get some ideas for future Hyatt stays: 10 Best Hyatt Redemptions for Budget Friendly Stays. The Cape Town Hyatt Regency looks nice. Or just go to Cat 1 hotels in Bangkok and Malaysia you guys, they are great.
It appears Chase has been invaded by staff that used to work at Delta and Marriott lately. And intent on squeezing any value and sticking it to us who have been around the travel rewards space for a while. I mean, this bank used to be my favorite bank. By far. In the past year it appears it is intent on no longer financing magnificent trips for my family, boo! And the refresh of the Chase Sapphire Reserve just keeps getting worse and worse. In a very Delta-like weasel-y way, so disappointing: Re-thinking the Edit: Devaluation means 2cpp bookings are no longer guaranteed.
The fact that you now get less than 2cpp of value at more than half the properties in a major US city using one of the flagship benefits of Chase’s updated Sapphire Reserve card is an incredibly disappointing development, especially coming less than six months after it launched. It definitely gives the impression that they wanted plaudits for the 2cpp guaranteed redemption ability immediately after the card’s revamp, only to hope that the subsequent devaluation would be missed/ignored/forgotten just a few months down the line.
Southwest keeps adding partners. Southwest To Partner With Turkish Airlines In January 2026. Nowhere near as full partners, which is probably not on the horizon. But still, all these additions definitely help the airline increase revenues by a little with each new partner…it adds up.
Bilt added a new partner as well. Spirit Airlines. Lol. Or maybe it will be Frontier as it appears merger talks between these two airlines are back. It always made sense but now maybe it is too late?
Will American Airlines ever make up its mind? American Airlines Cuts Loyalty Points & Miles Earnings On Basic Fares On American, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Fiji Airways, Iberia & Aer Lingus Effective December 17, 2025.
TRAVEL REWARDS CREDIT CARDS
Well, it happened suddenly: Mesa Credit Cards To Be Closed Immediately. Frankly, I am shocked the company lasted for a year. And I thought it may have some legs when it added Omni as a hotel travel partner less than two weeks before the end. I am sad for anyone who was caught with Mesa points in their accounts. And shame on everyone who photo shopped mortgage bills to get free points. I have no problem pushing some things against major banks. But when you cross the line to do things that are clearly fraud and illegal…ok, I better stop as I feel my blood pressure shooting up. Many of us would love to know what really happened. Was it simply the venture people just did not see a path out and decided to cut their losses quickly? Or…something else. Any Mesa insider reading this please feel free to contact me, thank you.
Rove trying to take advantage of the messy Mesa situation: Rove Miles: Up To 5,000 Free Points For Mesa Cardholders.
It is hard to believe that this lasted so long: Chase Ritz-Carlton To Restrict Guest Lounge Access From 2026.
In the good old days we used to fly ridiculously cheap fares, maintain high elite status every year and always turn left when boarding a plane, looking at myself in the mirror flying Northwest Airlines as Platinum elite, oh how I miss you. Anyway, things have changed: Airline Loyalty Used to Reward Flying, Now It Rewards Holding a Credit Card.
I deleted the expired 85k Southwest cards and added the note that the 100k Citi Strata Elite card is down, hopefully temporarily. Rest is the same, sorry.
NEW OFFERS:
30k CHASE Freedom Unlimited: No annual fee. Minimum spend only $500 in the first three months. Marketed as $300 Cash Back but you actually get 30,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points. This card earns 1.5x on everything, 5x on travel booked at the Chase travel portal, 3x on dining and drugstores, 2x on Lyft. 0% APR on purchases during the first 15 months of card membership. If you have an Ink Business Preferred, Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve or Sapphire Reserve for Business you can and you should transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards points out to airline and hotel partners.
With the new Chase card reality, be aware that you can still get the signup bonus if you have not received a bonus on this card alone in the past 24 months. And of course you won’t get the signup bonus if you currently have this card. Which means you can still get the signup bonus even if you have another Sapphire or Freedom type card. Look, we know that 30k offers should not even move the needle at all. But for some strange reason this card’s highest signup bonus offer has been only 20,000 points so it may be the time to secure a 1.5x catch all Chase card going forward. If you have no Chase Ink Unlimited cards in your arsenal.
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.
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. 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.
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
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. I (TEMPORARILY DOWN)
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.
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.
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BONUS OFFERS NOTIFICATIONS
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Elevated Card Offer Notifications
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MY ACTION AND BLOG BUZZING
I am still grieving for a relative’s loss on Thanksgiving day. Going to observe the Greek traditional 40 day grief period and pause any updates on Instagram and YouTube. And you know what? It has been refreshing not having to post anything on these two social media outlets. And I am realizing I just don’t have the bandwidth anymore on trying to make this blogging venture succeed, commercially speaking. And with the way that banks have continued to dramatically disrupt our hobby leading to less travel reward credit card applications this is clearly not a growth industry. And you add the fact that people read less and on and on and…I am reevaluating everything. Maybe this blog evolves again in 2026.
I have lots of pics/videos from my recent trip I should start posting sometime in January. By that time IG followers and YT subscribers would have dwindled to a bare few lol. Or I may just delete them and reclaim all this time, I am not sure. Like I said, I am rethinking everything.
I have been watching a lot of videos on YouTube lately. And then you realize that a lot of YouTubers just keep on repeating themselves. Slaves to the algorithm galore. Only a super tiny fraction ever make any money on YouTube. And of course they have to bust their butts to get there. And it’s funny watching some just keep posting and telling readers how “we retired early and you can too if you follow us and buy our courses and sign up for our exclusive membership tier” blah blah blah. It is nauseating really.
With the year coming to a close in less than two weeks it is becoming apparent that I will not burn more than 2 million miles/points for a second year in a row. Unless I book something for next fall. I did burn 13,500 World of Hyatt points to book me another 3 nights at the “majestic” Hyatt Place in the grand metropolis of Flint, Michigan to get me to 70 World of Hyatt elite night credits. The reason is I forgot to cancel the other 3 night mid December stay there I had booked earlier in the year with the plan to perhaps use it if I needed the night credits to requalify for World of Hyatt Globalist elite status. Well, I had already qualified and then in my jet lag induced days after returning from my long Thailand/Malaysia trip I just forgot. So I was at 67 and then I said phuck it, here I go for 3 more to hit 70 and earn another Globalist Guest of Honor Award and then I am going to choose 10,000 bonus points. So, in a way, the Guest of Honor Award cost me 3,500 points. I’ll take this trade anyday.
I still have not chosen my World of Hyatt Milestone Rewards for hitting 40 and 50 nights, I have 90 days since the day I hit them. And I am going to choose Suite Upgrade Awards (another 3) in early January to extend the expiration dates further, no rush in doing so now.
Major remodeling work will start at my home in mid January. And I am going to lock in to yet another tax season. And then World Cup is here. And, looking back, perhaps requalifying for World of Hyatt Globalist status was a big mistake as current travel plans are really foggy and actually non existent. I also predict I am going to spend lot of time with some business changes as I am getting near to that age 60 mark. On top of all that dealing with the death of a dear client as well is going to keep me grounded. Maybe I give away all my World of Hyatt free night, Guest of Honor and suite upgrade certs this year. Only to readers who have actually helped this blog survive to this point with credit card applications and Buy me Coffees. We shall see…
About rethinking everything, this is what I am thinking about this hobby which has been life changing since that day I received in the mail a packet congratulating me for achieving Northwest Airlines Worldperks Silver elite status. It was back in the early 90s. That started a deep dive into this space and has been my primary hobby ever since. So many memories over the years, I am blessed. As the hobby has grown and attracted many sales people the loopholes we used to swim in have steadily dwindled. Especially since the aftermath of Covid. I had predicted this and we were clearly onto it until Covid happened. Which slowed down the downard path. But it is clear now we are not needed and the banks and airlines/hotels are on the attack. And we need to adapt as we always do.
How? Well, personally, I am going to be more selective with my credit cards. Selective as in only going for very juicy bonuses, closing some cards, targeting the spend even more while all along trying to simplify/consolidate to free up mental bandwidth. Start being more friendly towards cash back cards. And since the bang from Chase cards is just not going to be there anymore I am going to have stop aiming spending less $ for my travel and instead accept the fact that paying for domestic airfare economy class is fine. Even paying for cheap hotel stays is fine. Clearly I need to do a better focused job on burning better. As in burning for business/first class airfare and expensive hotel stays using my still fat miles/points banked stash. What is clear is that at some point soon miles/points balances will stop growing. Also, I need to get my wife and kids off the reservation so to speak and let them clearly take charge and do their own thing with this instead of me directing everything. So, in other words, I need to work on my own “control freak” factor lol.
So, this is what I have done recently. I helped son apply for the Capital One Venture X card to earn 100,000 Capital One points. This is the card that has a $395 annual fee but comes with a $300 travel credit and another $100 in the form of 10,000 points at each card anniversary. In other words, it is a card that pays for itself. The 100k signup bonus is likely going to end soon. Of course, with each application with Capital One bank, I am praying after I click the button and…wait for that spinning wheel to come up with the verdict. And he was approved hooray! Then I did the same with my wife and she also got approved…I am on a roll now. With her own 100k Capital One Venture X card she can enter the Capital One lounges with me after February 1, 2026 when the restrictive lounge access policy starts. In a few days over Christmas I am going to help daughter apply for her own Venture X card. Pray with me for her, thanks.
Needless to say, all these Venture X cards were applied through my blogs’ links, this venture is a family business lol. If when these cc clicks dry up this family business is going to shut down.
I am going to also surrender the Discover it cards to my kids since they will apparently show up in the Capital One portal sometime in January 2026. And this way I won’t have to deal with these Discover cards anymore. Both kids got the cards when they turned 18 and I have been taking care of them over the years. It is time to give them up, less mental bandwidth for me. And more for them as Capital One will be a new bank for them (assuming my daughter gets approved for the Venture X card). This will increase their own mental bandwidth in addition to their Chase cards (Sapphire Preferred and Freedom Unlimited). Son also has had the Amex Platinum for several years and he is keeping it for the duration as he can really crush the new credits that come with it.
I have several cards to close in 2026: My own Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business, Capital One Venture Rewards, United Business and wife’s United Explorer. Remember, one card I am likely going to get is the new premium World of Hyatt card if it finally arrives in 2026. Other than that, I am still trying to get that Amex Schwab Platinum after repeated tries and then I can finally close my subpar Amex Platinum Business card. And I am slowly switching more spend towards my Amex Hilton Surpass and Amex Business Plus cards so maybe Amex can get me back in the fold instead of greeting me with the dreaded “pop up jail” message telling me “no soup signup bonus for you”.
I am going to try another award search vendor after I decided not to renew PointsYeah. Which one should I go for? Ease of use is important, don’t have the patience for way too nerdy interfaces.
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.
October:
Credit card sales: 7 Buy me a Coffee sales: 12
November:
Credit card sales: 4 Buy me a Coffee sales: 19
December to date:
Credit card sales: 2 Buy me a Coffee sales: 13
HOT CREDIT CARD OFFERS:
200k CHASE Sapphire Reserve Business, 125k CHASE Sapphire Reserve, 100k CITI Strata Elite, 175k AMEX Platinum, 75k 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 Freedom Unlimited, 30k CHASE United Gateway, 100k AMEX Gold, 100k CHASE Air Canada Aeroplan, 15k AMEX Blue Business Plus and many more!
As of today, I have burned 1,856,248 miles/points year to date (2,027,816 in 2024) and have 3,877,092 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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Comments (12)
Good morning! Thanks for the Epstein link. Wow! So many moving parts.
It is indeed a good time to rethink points / miles. It has been much fun!
Not surprisingly, I think they did a really selective job over at the Injustice Dept on what to pick from the Epstein piles.
Is really so out of it or did they decide it is focus on profitability all of a sudden? While let Amex “burn” from offering so many credits? Heck, I am over $1k on that higher AF Amex Plat. Will this show up on the next Amex quarterly earnings and immediately start rolling back the credits? Or can Amex keep this train going…for how long? Can’t just burn Hyatt points for Cat 1 properties anymore not thinking about it…the Chase UR points train has left the station, so sad.
I’ll have been retired for 18 years come next April 1. It’s been great but though chasing points and miles has been fun, I am slowing down and refocusing on Citi, believe it or not, more instead of Amex. I am not traveling as much anymore anyhow. I’ll be 69 in March and aging and health have a lot to do with the slow down. But there is still much to do, just at a slower pace.
Thanks as always for the blog post! I’ll be dipping into it for a couple days. Stay warm!
Hi from Brooklyn, already had bagel #1.
Turning 59 in 6 months, starting to feel like I have a decade to…maybe visit every country in the world…or something like that.
Went from scoring a $3k bump voucher to $30 food voucher
Flew with wife on United to Newark from Detroit this morning. Flight was booked with money built up over time in United Travel Bank with Amex Platinum airline credits. At 6.00 am, I know, I know. Always a great idea when booked and wtf was I thinking when it is time to head to the airport. Flight appeared full so here I go next to the gate agent opening the flight and…there she goes with “We are looking for 2 volunteers, flight is severely oversold, $1.5k voucher per seat)”. Boom, got there before she even finished talking lol. Got new flights while protecting current flights and then, you know, stay aside to see if someone is a no show. Well, it was a no go at the end. Got deflated while dreaming about $3k in free United flights. I know, I know…it is not a done deal until every seat is filled. It is like buying/selling a house…it is not done until the closing is done. Gate agent gave us two $15 food vouchers we spent at Newark for a combination of coffees, pizza, muffin and mixed nuts. Flight on a 737 was great actually. Super nice flight attendants. Along with gate agents. And Newark looks very nice as well, it’s been a while since I came through here…I think. While boarding I checked out at the Flint Hyatt Place LOL
RIP to family member
Nick Reiners eyes in photos were very telling
Venture X Travel credit still gamable?
Best wishes for Christmas and the new year!
Thank you. Best wishes for Christmas and New Year to you too.
Yeah, that dude was not all right, so tragically sad. I will have a follow up on that with Friday post.
Not sure about CO VX card travel credit…But since we are on the topic, and still trying to get back into Amex fold, is the FHR credit gameable? As in, booked me a FHR 1 night stay at Shinola hotel in Detroit (a property I always wanted to check out), credit showed up the very next day as expected. And now…what can I do with it?
Wait till next year. Book a new stay costing at least $600 (to cover FHR credit from this biannual period, and the one for first half of next year). Once credit posts, cancel original booking. Keep both credits.
Not sure I am following:
12/18 Booked 1 night FHR for March 2026, got $300 credit (for second half of 2025).
“Wait till next year”….Wait until January 2026?
“And book a new stay costing at least $600 to cover FHR credit for this biannual period, and the one for first half of next year” …Wait, already claimed the 2025 second half FHR credit for 2025 so this can’t come with a $600 credit. What if I book early Jan 2026 a $300 FHR stay and will likely get the credit of course for the first half of 2026. And then what?
Anyway, at this point I really want to stay at the Shinola hotel in Detroit. And may add a 2nd night to the March stay using another $300 credit for the first half of 2026. Just wanted to get the “maximization” part down 🙂
Thanks.
So sorry for you loss kiddo my uncle just passed last week and I will miss the funeral due to travel. In other news, I met some nice greeks in japan and they said you have the most common first/last name!
Yep, my name is Brian Smith back there 🙂
Thank you. Missing funerals due to travel is one of those most undeseriable facts about travel sadly.
The first edition of the 2025 Annual Best Of Lists drops tomorrow Tuesday December 22, 2025.
Slept a total of 11 hours yesterday, which is a record in a very long time. I think jet lag is finally conquered. Amazing how refreshing the body can feel after catching up on sleep!
The way the Detroit Lions lost yesterday should be an NFL felony. So distraught…and inflicting this with mega asshole AaronRodgers is just too much to take. Going to be thinking about this all day today over NYC bagels and dim sum feasts.