Vanguard and ETFs Clean Up, 12X Bet on AI, Iran’s Future, Great AMEX and Alaska Airlines Offers
Another TBB post featuring the most eclectic links around the web such as Vanguard and ETFs clean up, 12X bet on AI, Iran’s future, great AMEX and Alaska Airlines offers, the strangest book in history, the ozempicization of the economy, smartphones get all the blame, orgasmic meditations, Iran war rippling across the world, so much winning, the most embarrassing art heists, 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!
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.
I am really proud of my blog. And I am really tired bringing it to you paying out of my own pocket to cover the costs of running it. Let’s see what happens this month and then it will be time to evolve again. I know I have said this many times lol.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Our envy always lasts longer than the happiness of those we envy” – Heraclitus
I had never heard of this before. 100 years ago, Arthur Inman decided to write the most brutally honest and explicit diary in history—so he hired people to tell him their intimate secrets.
Inman wrote some 17 million words and filled 155 volumes (now housed in Harvard’s Houghton Library)—that’s roughly 25 times as long as the Bible—and devoted more than 40 years to his project. He started writing his diary in 1919 and continued working on it until shortly before his death in 1963.
This guy was a disturbed individual and…not going to spoil it for you, read it.
The second gem comes from a newsletter titled “Gold and Geopolitics“. Ok, love geopolitics and gold has never been my thing so I thought this was just another piece of content from a gold bug. Anyway, this particular piece captures the absolute absurdity of what we are all enduring here in the US these days, enjoy:
In my real job (blogging is not it!) I have been using all ETF portfolios to manage clients’ money and of course my own. For over 20 years now. And taxes is a big reason why that is: Why ETFs Win the Tax Battle Over Mutual Funds.
Kyla Scanlon with several thoughts about what is going on, especially among the younger generations: The Ozempicization of the Economy. I must admit I can’t keep up with what’s going on with the younger generations, like wtf is looksmaxing and manosphere and shit like that, etc.
Everyone is chasing after the gold. Everyone is trying to strike rich, easily and quickly, to “get in on the next big thing and hope for the best”…
If you did not stop investing during the last mega crash almost 20 years ago, you have done well. As a Vanguard investor for my own and my clients’ money we have been incredibly grateful looking back. This allows me to still work on this blog after so many years, I can assure you it is not the money lol. Anyway: Vanguard Investors Cleaned Up. Oh yeah…
On an asset-weighted basis, Vanguard’s equity funds returned 12.6% per year over the decade ended Dec. 31, 2025.
But what appears to have set Vanguard apart is its fund investors largely staying put and, thus, participating more fully in their gains. [Behavior is key always]
1. Smartphones and social media are hard to study well. This basic fact cuts two ways. It means SToE crtitics can overstate the evidence, but it also means the evidence can understate the real effect of phones.
2. There’s something weird about America—and, maybe, the entire English-speaking world.
3. People overrate phones’ effect on misinformation—and underrate their effect on information.
4. The biggest problem with smartphones isn’t what’s on the phone, but rather what’s not on the phone.
They never stop: March 2026 Ponzi Scheme Roundup. Nothing uncommon here, same old fraudsters doing fraud. Also, do NOT ever fall for this, ok? There is never zero risk and guaranteed returns in investing!
He collected more than $3 million from investors, promising zero risk and a guaranteed return.
AI
There is no way to keep up with all the AI developments. Oh wait, maybe there is. Enter the AI News Aggregator, I like the daily Executive Summary a lot. Make sure you click on “jump to the latest” to get to the latest one.
For every dollar hyperscalers earn from AI today, they’re spending twelve dollars to build more capacity. That’s the bet embedded in $575 billion of capital expenditure this year.
From 2020 to 2024, hyperscalers issued an average of $20 billion in bonds annually. In 2025, that jumped to $96 billion. In 2026, it will reach $159 billion. Morgan Stanley projects $1.5 trillion over the next few years.
Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta, & Oracle will spend 90% of their operating cash flow on AI data centers in 2026, up from a historical average of 40%.
Poor Iranian people, they have endured so much: The Real War for Iran’s Future. Who Will Determine the Fate of the Islamic Republic?
The regime’s pragmatists are hardly advocates of democracy; even though it was the hard-liners who drove Iran into the ground, the country’s moderates were fully complicit. But despite all the bombings, the regime remains intact, and there is no viable alternative that is ready to replace it. As a result, the most effective way to transform Tehran for the better is to work with insiders who support change. They know how the system works and how to work the system. And after decades of dominance by ultraconservatives, Iran’s tumult means these moderates finally have a shot at enacting change.
One month. 88 waves. 40 destroyed energy assets across 9 countries. Seven supply chains severed. A yuan toll booth where the petrodollar used to be. A famine building in the planting data. A carrier in Crete. An AWACS burning in the Saudi desert. Cruise missiles spent. Bond markets screaming. Allies shutting bases. $12 trillion gone. And the only option left on the table is the one that turns all of this into a footnote. We’re going to win so much. You may even get tired of winning.
Nine years ago, Americans bet less than $5 billion on sports. Last year, that number rose to at least $160 billion. Big numbers mean nothing to me, so let me put that statistic another way: $5 billion is roughly the amount Americans spend annually at coin-operated laundromats and $160 billion is nearly what Americans spent last year on domestic airline tickets. So, in a decade, the online sports gambling industry will have risen from the level of coin laundromats to rival the entire airline industry.
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…
This is always a good promotion to register for if you rent cars: National Emerald Club One Two Free. I hardly rent cars anymore ever since Uber and Lyft came into our life.
Lots of them lately: Current point transfer bonuses for April 2026. Nice 20% bonus to Air Canada Aeroplan from Chase. Many bloggers talk up JAL, I wonder if they actually used its website.
A blog reader emailed me some time ago about what happens when someone dies with lots of miles & points in several programs, here you go: Death and US Loyalty Programs.
This didn’t take long huh? First JetBlue, Now United: Why Your Next Flight May Be $10 More Expensive. Actually, I am shocked Delta has not done this yet. United execs probably did high fives for not following Delta lol. I can’t wait for the war to be over to get the fuel costs back down and these fees as well. Riiiiiight….
The targeted United Miles Play promotion has been around forever. Give it a try to see what you get and do not expect much at all. I enrolled all four of us because, you know, this is an addiction. And I never figured out the rationale behind how United comes up with each variation smh:
Book/Fly 1 trip >$250 by 6/9/26, earn 2,500 miles
Book/Fly 2 trips >$175 by 6/9/26, earn 7,800 miles
Several excellent new credit card offers finally and have added expiration dates to some current offers, maybe this blog can sell a few to evade the ax? You can always email me to ask anything about these offers.
Amex is going all out on both Business Platinum and Gold cards!
As High As 200,000 Points on the AMEX Business Gold after spending $15k in the first three months
As High As 300,000 Points on the AMEX Business Platinum after spending $20,000 in the first three months
Excellent new Bank of America Alaska Airlines Atmos card offers as well:
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
200k CHASE IHG Business Premier: After spending $4k in the first three months for the first 140k points. Another $5k of spend (for a total of $9k) for another 60k points in the first six months, annual fee $99. For more info on it, click HERE.
25k CHASE Freedom Unlimited: After spending only $500 in the first three months, $0 annual fee. ENDING 4/30/2026.
175k AMEX Marriott Bonvoy Bevy: After spending $5,000 in the first six months, annual fee $250. ENDING 5/13/2026.
5 Free Nights AMEX Marriott Bonvoy Business: After spending a total of $9,000 in the first six months, annual fee $125.
For more info click on these AMEX Marriott Bonvoy cards click here.
80k CHASE World of Hyatt Business: After spending $10,000 in the first three months, annual fee is $199. For more info, click here. Highest ever offer as well, with higher minimum spend though.
75k CITI AAdvantage Business World Elite MasterCard
AMEX HILTON HONORS BUSINESS: Limited Time Offer: Earn 175,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points plus a Free Night Reward after you spend $8,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors Business Card in the first six months of Card Membership. Offer ends 4/15/2026. Terms apply.
AMEX HILTON ASPIRE: Limited Time Offer: Earn 175,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases on the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card within your first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 4/15/2026. Terms apply.
AMEX HILTON SURPASS: Limited Time Offer: Earn 130,000 Bonus Points plus a Free Night Reward after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 4/15/2026. Terms apply.
AMEX HILTON HONORS: Limited Time Offer: Earn 70,000 Bonus Points plus a Free Night Reward after you spend $2,000 in purchases on the Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 4/15/2026. Terms apply.
Due to credit card vendor restrictions, the only affiliate links I can place in the body of my posts are for Capital One cards. For the rest, you know what to do. You can always email me at travelbloggerbuzz@gmail.com with ANY questions.
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MY ACTION AND BLOG BUZZING
I am already done with the minimum spend on my wife’s new no annual fee United Gateway card, another 30k United miles to come very soon. Not only that, but went up to $10k and locked in the enhanced saver award availability for all of 2026 AND 2027. The card went into sock drawer status. Until a promo comes. Judging from my own history of the United Gateway card, these promos are coming soon.
Speaking of United Gateway card promos, in a shocking development, my own card joined my wife’s sock drawer as well as of April 1st. Because as of March 31 I had finished two promos, one giving 3x for groceries/gas/restaurant spend and another spend based one. I expect a total of 20k United miles to be added to my account, in the dreaded “six to eight weeks” from March 31. And they do take all of these weeks to show up. Actually, I had been targeted for another spend based promo which it wasn’t that lucrative so I declined.
I again tried to apply for the Schwab Amex Platinum card, only to be greeted with the dreaded pop up message telling me I am not eligible. Because of my history with Amex or something, boo. I will try again.
The brand new “as high as” 300k Amex Business Platinum and 200k Amex Business gold offers are amazing. But I wonder if any do get them? Very tempting but it looks like Amex does not like me. Maybe my wife will go for either one of them. Actually, kind of curious if she does get the highest offer? Hmmm, maybe I try it. When I have some time. It’s not like I need more miles and more credits to keep track of. But, you know, the addiction is real…
If my calculations are correct, I should have two more Free Night Certs coming very shortly. After the three pending transactions in my Amex Hilton Surpass card post I will have a Hilton FNC. Maybe it is in my account by the time you read this. On the other hand, I think I am done with the spend in my Chase personal Hyatt Visa that should give me one more Hyatt FNC. But then again, I am not really sure. Since Chase gave me several World of Hyatt elite night credits for that 5k spend thingie. Which did not agree with my own calculations. I thought this was now purely based on calendar spend but I am not sure. I guess I will find out on April 5 after my statement closes on the 4th of the month. Actually, all of my credit card statements close on the 4th of the month. Except Capital One which is frustrating because I am told this can not be done. Which, in this age is super annoying. Oh well, you can’t have everything in life I guess.
I keep forgetting we get one World of Hyatt night credit for gifting award certs. So I now stand at 15 night credits year to date. I am thinking to book a monthly rate at the Hyatt Place in Soi 24 in Bangkok later this year, it comes out to about $67 per night. Long gone are the days when I just burned World of Hyatt points for every hotel stay. All coming from plentiful Chase Ultimate Rewards point transfers #crying. So I should hit the 60 nights to requalify as World of Hyatt Globalist easy. But we are weary of more changes to be announced very soon in the World of Hyatt program. And we all know that the award charts will have five different levels going forward. Which is insane. So, everything has changed on the ground…
And we finally made it to the Capital One cafe in Detroit. 50% off with a Capital One card, always love a deal. Short walk from the Shinola Hotel we stayed for one night using my $300 Amex Fine Hotels & Resort credit where, cough, let’s just say we maximized it lol. Short getaway after the contractors wrecking renovating our house kicked us to let the new wood floor to set in or something.
Italian dinner at San Morello inside the Shinola Hotel in Detroit. Fully used up the $100 on property credit from the Amex FHR stay benefitAddicted to free breakfast at San Morello inside the Shinola Hotel in Detroit, thanks to Amex FHR benefit.At Capital One cafe in Detroit, short walk from the Shinola hotel. Great wifi and nice atmosphere. Way less crowded than the cafe in Philadelphia. And 50% off with our CO Venture X card!
World Cup commentary: And the final teams have been decided. Amazing to see Iraq and Congo make it. And one of the worst teams, Sweden, without a single win in the first round someway somehow managed to squeak into the tournament. Unreal that Italy will miss the World Cup for the third time in a row, pathetic: The Most Baffling Streak in Sports Continues: Italy Will Miss the World Cup Again.
One of my favorite bands of all time, Dead Can Dance, is back after several years of silence. And as always it is epic: Our Day Will Come.
Continuing to post my pics/videos from the November/December 2025 family trip to Thailand and Malaysia, nearing the end.
This blog ends when my 2nd credit card vendor kicks me to the curb due to “low sales volume”. Or the latest three month accounting below turns to all red, whichever happens first. Until then, enjoy my blog if you read this far.
Blog Revenue Full Disclosure:
February:
Credit card sales: 1 Buy me a Coffee: 22
March:
Credit card sales: 4 Buy me a Coffee: 7
April to date:
Credit card sales: 0 Buy me a Coffee: 0
HOT CREDIT CARD OFFERS:
150k CHASE Sapphire Reserve Business, 125k CHASE Sapphire Reserve, 75k CITI Strata Elite, 75k AND $250 Travel Credit CAPITAL ONE Venture Rewards (ENDS 4/13/26), 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, 75k CHASE Sapphire Preferred, 200k AMEX Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant, 175k Marriott Bonvoy Bevy (ENDS 5/13/26), 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!
Remember, you are NOT allowed to ever carry a credit card balance!
Let me leave you with this:
Ended the staycation by driving to a Hilton property and having a free lunch utilizing one of our $50 quarterly Hilton credits. Everything you see is 50% off, probably the best deal in Michigan right now. I love lamb chops!
Some of the links are behind a paywall. You can try to read them using Archive.is.
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Gold! Maybe? I dunno. Lots to read going through this and thanks as always. Fighting with multiple house things here myself. Not renovations but minor irritations. Thankfully the days are finally getting longer and that makes this old man smile! Always appreciate the work you do to present all this to us every week, George!
N
Nick @ PFDApril 3, 2026
I figured that since the markets are closed on Good Friday, Trump was going to start some kind of ground operation after market close on Thursday and then conclude it at 9:29 am EST on Monday. I woke up this morning to no boots on the ground, so that’s a win I guess…
You could have linked to TBB’s Iran report. What happened to yomadic?
TACO, apparently the wall street war playbook is; buy on Monday, sell on Friday. Weekends are too volatile.
WC tickets are outrageously expensive. And more games than ever.
D
DMLApril 3, 2026
Carl is indeed GOLD!
Thanks for the wonderful links … the tax benefits from ETFs are so dramatic that traditional mutual funds just seem weird.
S
sexy_kitten7April 3, 2026
did big sur and did not get the appeal. at all. granted i lived in SAN for 6 yrs.
V
VickyApril 3, 2026
Happy easter everyone. We were Vanguard investors until recently, let me tell you when you need good customer service they are not your go to company. We ended up having to move all our investments to Schwab as the only way we could access the funds thanks to Wells Fargo debanking us. Totally agree on your thoughts on gambling. However, unfortunately governments enjoy the lobbying by the gaming industry and are addicted to the taxes it raises. We are tracking similar to you on Hyatt this year. If our expected Thailand/Singapore happens in July we should make Globalist again but 2027 is in doubt. Only pushing through this year because we want those suite upgrades to use in Europe in 2027.
BTW have you lost a lot of weight as you are looking very thin?
E
ElenaApril 4, 2026
Re-hyatt spend and elite nights, the spend actually carries forward from prior year. If you had $19K spend in 2025, $4K roll-over to 2026 as part of that elite night count, so spend another $1K in 2027 gets you 2 nights in 2026. Only the $15K spend for FNC is by calendar year. I was confused at first when I got elite nights from spend that didn’t add up to $5K yet so I looked into it and also confirmed with Chase.
G
GeorgeTBBAuthorApril 4, 2026
Just watched my hometown soccer team lose to the worst team in the league with one of its worst performances ever…and I am not feeling well, so excuse me, going to be short here.
The link to the Iran video is great, thanks Nick!
Big Sur is over rated I agree.
Best place to hold Vanguard investments are at Schwab 🙂 Vanguard’s customer service is legendarily bad. Trying to maintain weight under 175 lbs and it would be easy if I stayed away from free Hyatt breakfasts, airline lounges and business class airline food lol.
Thanks Elena, for clarifying that! I went back and tracked it now and it makes sense, only $1,131 away from another 2 Hyatt elite nights.
D
DavidApril 4, 2026
Hey Buzz,
Great links this week, thank you as always.
Currently watching my boys lose to Southampton, and waiting to see if they collapse again this year on all fronts.
Excited about the important game today, at least for you and I. Hopefully will be a close, well played adventure.
Elena, thanks for the heads up!
Enjoy the games today Buzz!
G
GeorgeTBBAuthorApril 5, 2026
UofM BB team has been on a giant roll all year long, one more to go! I still remember back in 1989 celebrating the national championship when I was a young man lol.
Arsenal must quit collapsing one of these years.
I am more proud of the Detroit Pistons, what a turnaround. Of course it would mean nothing if we don’t win a playoff series, it’s been soooo long.
Everyone is depressed back in my hometown, it happens after each AEL FC loss. Yesterday’s performance was so embarrassing. Wednesday’s game is a MUST win or we will likely not escape relegation.
Happy Easter!
N
Nick @ PFDApril 9, 2026
BREAKING NEWS: YOU CAN NOW OPEN BANK ACCOUNTS WITH AI AGENTS. TOTAL GAME CHANGER ONCE I FIGURE THIS STUFF OUT. OR MAYBE NOT, I DON’T KNOW.
Comments (13)
Gold! Maybe? I dunno. Lots to read going through this and thanks as always. Fighting with multiple house things here myself. Not renovations but minor irritations. Thankfully the days are finally getting longer and that makes this old man smile! Always appreciate the work you do to present all this to us every week, George!
I figured that since the markets are closed on Good Friday, Trump was going to start some kind of ground operation after market close on Thursday and then conclude it at 9:29 am EST on Monday. I woke up this morning to no boots on the ground, so that’s a win I guess…
Forgot to include this in my post: Rick Steves’ Iran! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYoa9hI3CXg
You could have linked to TBB’s Iran report. What happened to yomadic?
TACO, apparently the wall street war playbook is; buy on Monday, sell on Friday. Weekends are too volatile.
WC tickets are outrageously expensive. And more games than ever.
Carl is indeed GOLD!
Thanks for the wonderful links … the tax benefits from ETFs are so dramatic that traditional mutual funds just seem weird.
did big sur and did not get the appeal. at all. granted i lived in SAN for 6 yrs.
Happy easter everyone. We were Vanguard investors until recently, let me tell you when you need good customer service they are not your go to company. We ended up having to move all our investments to Schwab as the only way we could access the funds thanks to Wells Fargo debanking us. Totally agree on your thoughts on gambling. However, unfortunately governments enjoy the lobbying by the gaming industry and are addicted to the taxes it raises. We are tracking similar to you on Hyatt this year. If our expected Thailand/Singapore happens in July we should make Globalist again but 2027 is in doubt. Only pushing through this year because we want those suite upgrades to use in Europe in 2027.
BTW have you lost a lot of weight as you are looking very thin?
Re-hyatt spend and elite nights, the spend actually carries forward from prior year. If you had $19K spend in 2025, $4K roll-over to 2026 as part of that elite night count, so spend another $1K in 2027 gets you 2 nights in 2026. Only the $15K spend for FNC is by calendar year. I was confused at first when I got elite nights from spend that didn’t add up to $5K yet so I looked into it and also confirmed with Chase.
Just watched my hometown soccer team lose to the worst team in the league with one of its worst performances ever…and I am not feeling well, so excuse me, going to be short here.
The link to the Iran video is great, thanks Nick!
Big Sur is over rated I agree.
Best place to hold Vanguard investments are at Schwab 🙂 Vanguard’s customer service is legendarily bad. Trying to maintain weight under 175 lbs and it would be easy if I stayed away from free Hyatt breakfasts, airline lounges and business class airline food lol.
Thanks Elena, for clarifying that! I went back and tracked it now and it makes sense, only $1,131 away from another 2 Hyatt elite nights.
Hey Buzz,
Great links this week, thank you as always.
Currently watching my boys lose to Southampton, and waiting to see if they collapse again this year on all fronts.
Excited about the important game today, at least for you and I. Hopefully will be a close, well played adventure.
Elena, thanks for the heads up!
Enjoy the games today Buzz!
UofM BB team has been on a giant roll all year long, one more to go! I still remember back in 1989 celebrating the national championship when I was a young man lol.
Arsenal must quit collapsing one of these years.
I am more proud of the Detroit Pistons, what a turnaround. Of course it would mean nothing if we don’t win a playoff series, it’s been soooo long.
Everyone is depressed back in my hometown, it happens after each AEL FC loss. Yesterday’s performance was so embarrassing. Wednesday’s game is a MUST win or we will likely not escape relegation.
Happy Easter!
BREAKING NEWS: YOU CAN NOW OPEN BANK ACCOUNTS WITH AI AGENTS. TOTAL GAME CHANGER ONCE I FIGURE THIS STUFF OUT. OR MAYBE NOT, I DON’T KNOW.
https://www.meow.com/mcp
(yes, this is a legitimate site and it’s really called meow. no, I don’t know why they called it that.)
Yeah, there will be more like this showing up…
What a dumb name though, wow. The tiny print at the bottom, this is from an RIA!
I think I am going to pass for now 🙂