Let’s roll with Drew’s Southeast Asia Guide, learning Avios tricks & how to find the booking class codes, pondering the costs of “Free”, enjoy seeing how Barclays Bank does business, travel to Tibet and an awesome Cliff House, check out a crazy exhibitionist guy’s pics, and improve your lives with the best personal finance links in the blogosphere. You asked for shorter posts. TBB delivers. As long as we can. Thanks for clicking the hell out of our Amazon link. This new ad banner we got brought in 14 cents yesterday, woohoo!
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MILES/POINTS
#BYOE, Book One Way Flights and Avoid AA Award Change Fees – Milenomics. Excellent advice here using….British Airways Avios! Well done!
Find Your “Booking Class Code”: The Difference Between 0% Miles and 100% – Travel is Free. I think Drew is the best blogger in this space, there I said it! What the hell do I know? I have only been following this space for over 15 years and been reading all the major commercial blogs since day one. There I go again….I need to hold back for the Blog Buzz. Serenity now, serenity now.
There is No Free Lunch; The Hidden Costs of “Free” – Milenomics. A bit longer than necessary but still great to instill some major hotels in one of the biggest fantasies in this ‘hobby” that was drilled into Nightline viewers: that all what we do is FREE.
How to Piss Off Barclay – Point Princess. A very interesting account of what happened when the blogger tried to apply for her parents. Certainly gives some great insight of how different and goofy this bank can be than what we are accustomed to here in the US!
Well, at this point, I don’t trust a word coming from IHG Rewards about its latest promotion! So I am likely staying away from them. Message to IHG: Get your T&Cs and messages straight BEFORE you announce the promo!
TRAVEL
Time in Tibet. Extraordinary video at The Adventure Blog.
Cliff House by Modscape Concept. Yes this is an actual house it appears! It’s in Australia and it is 5 stories…no kidding! One day Bezos will allow me to buy this with the gazillions I am earning from the TBB Amazon link! That was a joke by the way 🙂
Exhibitionist spends five years travelling the world doing NAKED handstands in front of famous sights. Hey, this is pretty cool: “The anonymous Naked Handstander has stripped off in 17 different countries across the globe including China, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, Norway, the US and Australia, and has happily pulled his signature handstand in the buff for the waiting camera.” I wonder if he is using miles to get around 🙂
PERSONAL FINANCE
How working in retirement impacts Social Security. By MarketWatch.
There’s More to Estate Planning Than Just the Will. At the New York Times. Note: You can google the title for accessing it without being required to open a NYT account if it does not come up!
Here’s the Most Affluent Town in Each State. This is pretty cool I think. I was surprised about the Michigan choice!
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TBB
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Another post so soon?
Looks like I am the new HelixCardinal! Still Template-free, though…
PS: Hope the naked handstander doesnt give gleff any ideas….
Had this in the works before I decided to do the Blog Buzz posts daily…which may not last. Your PS had me on the floor rolling….let’s hope not!
This is my first comment here.
Welcome aboard then! Your comment was FREE 🙂
The whole post and discussion on whether or not travel is free over at the MP blog was cringe-inducing in parts. Travel is free “in parts” – wtf. Either it is free or not – trying to force-fit it into a “free” category is just salesmanship, nothing else.
Anyone counted how many times the world “Free” was mentioned? I can see newbies getting credit cards while living paycheck to paycheck…and then when it comes time to burn the points…..LOL
I also wrote a post on “Free Travel” some time ago — when I felt philosophical. Look, the whole argument about free travel is an argument about semantics. Of course, it’s free – to everyone who pays real money for it. And of course, it’s not free – to us, since we travel more often and since there are so many petty fees. Anyone who travels just because it’s “free” does it for all the wrong reasons. I personally did travel even before it was “free” and will travel even if there is ever after 🙂
What’s the Chris Rock line….”If a homeless guy has a funny sign, he hasn’t been homeless that long”.
Good line!
Since nobody has officially claimed it, I’ll take that silver medal here
Sounds good, like good old days!
Is Frequent Miler written by someone else, perhaps an intern lately. Cannot put my finger on the changes but not as good as it use to be. Buzz, Your thoughts please…….
I agree. Downgraded to Like from Love some time ago. Just not hitting it as earlier. I think it has to do with the fact there are so many other blogs out there so doing something “new” is just not that easy. This space is just over saturated. We need a BIG massacre (as in a major development with the affiliate system so most of the bloggers go home and then you will see who is the real expert/passionate about this hobby).
Love the avatar…again!
OK, nominations for what one item our friendly bloggers should hold (or tie to their middles) while doing a naked handstand:
Dariaus – so obvious; a bowtie
Emily – another giveaway; a SW companion pass
GLeff – Let’s see, a pair of carefully folded PJs? A camera to document whether other hand-standing naked bloggers are texting instead of enjoying the view?
Milenomics – His tool belt, of course.
Buzz – A soccer ball?
Lucky – A Lufthansa rubber duckie
Pack of Peanuts – duh, you know.
KennyB – his wife and kids (exception made for holding more than one item; if the judges are strict, change “wife and kids” to “family”
MommyPoints – Little C
MilesAbound – The Maldives
Greg – A spreadsheet
MarathonMan – a CVS receipt that is taller than he is
Kathy – She gets permission to wear the shoes from her latest marathon.
Geez, I can’t believe I am doing this when I could be MSing. It is clearly cutting into my bottom line. Good bye,
Oh, two more:
Drew – Carrie
Carrie – Drew
And no “who’s Drew” you guys!
Lol…
ingy – Everyone else’s credit score to facilitate anal-ysis for more credit card recommendations
TPG – The PR staffer who blew securing the NIghtline TV deal!
Milevalue – A Barclaycard Arrival application, what else?
DP – Every credit card application he sells!
Pizza in motion – Pizza box!
Heels First Travel – Pair of heels bought with TBB’s Amazon link!
This was totally brilliant. Thanks for the laughs, TWA44!
😀
Loved it, TWA44!!
However one correction:
Lucky, a year ago – A Lufthansa rubber duckie
Lucky, recently – A distorted sense of entitlement.
Yup! You nailed it!
George, you made me click that pageview fishing clickbait headline by points princess: that post had no content dude… now I feel violated!
Ok, I nominate princess to do a handstand with a tiara!
I liked it because it showed how Barlclays thinks/operates.
And I second it 🙂
Well, if you enter wrong data…
Good reminder to be careful not to enter wrong data because this may happen to you 🙂
Was just told I have to take a quick trip to Santorini next week (may sound nice but part of a brutal EU trip). Only have one night, but I’ll see if I can fit in a NAKED handstands with a nice view of the Mediterranean. Is Sofitel the only option at ATH?
I am assuming you are referring to ATH airport hotels. Yes the Sofitel is the only one, most convenient. There is a Holiday Inn that is referred to as airport hotel but it can take minimum 15 minutes with its shuttle. Go outside, turn right for shuttle bus parking (ask at the info Kiosk in case they moved). I have stayed there. New building, everything shiny (two years ago). Restaurant food lacked big time. Not much around it. But bus to downtown is right in front if you have time, most convenient way to get to the tourist sites. Hope this helps.
I tried to post my 3 word answer to what a travel blogger is but it apparently did not pass Lucky’s strict moderation. Maybe it was too vulgar for him.
My answer … a credit card salesperson.
I have someone who keeps emailing me he is the greatest blogger of all time and is the last blogger who belongs on the TBB Ignore list. It’s kind of funny!
I just get this really funny feeling about Lucky’s comment sections…there’s just too many staunch defenders there who won’t even consider that L. isn’t a travel god personified.
I seriously think Lucky has been authoring some of his defending comments. Does anyone else feel similarly, or do I just have symptoms of credit card sales revulsion fever?
It crossed my mind yes 😉
Well, my comment is showing on Lucky’s blog now. When I first posted, it said awaiting moderation, even after I refreshed. A hour or 2 later my comment disappeared. But this morning I see that he let it post.
That happens here sometimes so to readers who may not see their comment post email me or let me know on Twitter!
Oy vey. Just saw a tweet pushing a Mommy Points Guide to Earning Nearly Free Travel.
Free + Nearly Free = Not Free.
Missed that. Was it a link to a page in the MP blog or….gasp, a book!Wonder if it is FREE 🙂
Okay, but am I holding the pizza box or strapping it to my midsection. I think we’d have a lot less people in therapy if we strapped it to my midsection. Just sayin….