Another TBB post featuring the most eclectic links around the web such as how to succeed in investing, hideous crypto maniacs, the best fall scenic drives, the new Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards program, playing along with a scammer, most popular slangs by year, the best nude beaches, top international bridges, 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. Enjoy the weekend and stay cool.
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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.
Due to new severe credit card affiliate restrictions, there will not be any credit card links in the body of the blog posts other than Capital One Bank and personal referral links going forward. You can always get to my credit card links by clicking on “CREDIT CARDS’ at the menu on the top of the homepage or the big beautiful “We make finding a new credit card simple” banner on the right sidebar. Or, preferably, you can receive new offers in your email inbox by signing up to receive alerts HERE to avoid clicking to find the one credit card you want to apply for. Or you can always email me, thanks for your support.
BLOG HOUSEKEEPING
This is truly a one man labor of love operation, enjoy it while it lasts.
Next several posts will be published while traveling in Greece. Do not expect the posts to be as long and so up to date with the latest developments as this post today.
Finish the summer strong everyone!
PERSONAL FINANCE
Your investing should be boring. Whenever I met with a prospect I told them if you are looking for excitement in your investment portfolio I am definitely not the financial advisor for you. Choosing to do nothing is a choice, just like so many in my industry choose to follow much more active trading strategies consulting their proprietary crystal balls. Oh, the link that caused me to go off a little starting today’s post: Why Hands-Off Investing Pays Off.
In fact, Morningstar found that, on average, the actual returns of fund investors were significantly less than the posted market returns, a discrepancy explained by poor trading decisions — buying when the market was high and selling when prices were low. Over extended periods — say, 30 years — this drag on returns produces chilling results: a reduction in the money in an average investor’s portfolio of more than 18 percent, according to Morningstar calculations performed at my request.
Reaching for better returns may hurt you in the end. Keep your investing clean and simple, avoid risks you can’t afford to take and try to stash enough money in safe places to pay the bills. If you’ve done all that, remind yourself: Leave your investments alone.
So along the way you will always encounter people in my industry who will try to sell you amazing solutions shit to get rich. You know, they have a secret sauce or something. Some get lucky with their timing and then go on for years trying to get lucky again. When shit happens, these people come out in droves and sell the latest hot thing. You should hold your nose and ignore them. Easier said than done. The average tenure of my clients is 15 years and I bet you (I don’t bet but I will when I am 100% assured of winning lol) they have done way better than any of these hot shots who pump the latest “can’t lose” products. Sorry for the long intro of this second link: When ‘invest like the 1%’ fails: How Yieldstreet’s real estate bets left customers with massive losses.
Company Tagline: “Invest like the 1%” [Maybe ‘Lose like the 1″ is more appropriate. Oh yeah, that eternal appeal to exclusivity and plain greed smh]
“There isn’t a day that goes by without me saying, ‘I can’t believe what happened,’” Klish told CNBC. “I lost $400,000 in Yieldstreet. I consider myself moderately financially savvy, and I got duped by this company. I just worry that it’s going to keep happening to others.” [Moderately savvy and overly greedy]
Of the 30 deals that CNBC reviewed information on, four have been declared total losses by Yieldstreet. Of the rest, 23 are deemed to be on “watchlist” by the startup as it seeks to recoup value for investors, sometimes by raising more funds from members. Three deals are listed as “active,” though they have stopped making scheduled payouts, according to the documents.
Yieldstreet CEO: “Our mission at Yieldstreet is, how do we help create financial independence for millions of people? You do that by helping people generate consistent, passive income.” [M*#@!^ and way too many other expletives just escaped my mouth, exsqueeze me, I need to control myself better, I am working on it…]
Yieldstreet CEO: “We understand that when winter comes, there will be challenges, but we take comfort in knowing that there’s underlying collateral. Anybody could put money out. It’s about bringing it back home. [And this is when I started looking for something to punch lol]
At least that CEO is no longer around. I always try to find something positive to counter my intense distaste for this shit that gives my industry such a bad reputation. Which it deserves sadly. Thanks to blog reader NickPFD for bringing this article to my attention.
Getting rich with investing is easy. If you are able to stick with it. Easier said than done of course: The Big Secret to Long-Term Investment Success.
All investments center around beliefs about what will transpire in the future. No one really knows what will happen tomorrow, next month, or next year. The most catastrophic disruptions are those that we never saw coming. All those events tend to wash out over multiple decades. The secret to long-term investment success comes down to tapping into that long-term economic growth in the most cost-effective way possible. It also requires staying put when the inevitable downturns unfold. [The author singles out the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF at an expense ratio of only 0.03%. Latest client portfolio reviews have them at an average expense ratio of 0.04%, I need to do better lol. Also, never forget that in the long run we are all going to die ok?]
This caught my attention, something to ponder. Remember, nobody knows what will happen in the short term and there will always be something to worry about…
SCAMS/CRYPTO/AI/TECH
Remember those two crypto bros who tortured another Italian crypto bro in New York City to get him to spill the passwords to steal his crypto stash? Well, if you thought the previous article about this incident was stomach turning, you haven’t seen anything yet. This one will make you barf and wonder why all these horrible people are attracted to this shit, come on! The Crypto Maniacs and the Torture Townhouse. How two men charged with an outrageous kidnapping scheme introduced a new kind of crime to the city. Read at your own risk. I always had very low expectations about these guys but this far surpasses them wow.
Fascinating account of a writer who plays along with a scammer after responding to a text. Of the kind we all receive these days trying to strike up a conversation or offering us a job, etc. My Scammer. I responded to one of those spam texts from a “recruiter”—then took the job. It got weirder than I could have imagined. Amazing how these scammers work you wow. Anyway, the author wonders near the end:
Now we have seen trillions of dollars put toward radically overhauling the nature of interpersonal communication, of commerce, the great global reach of the internet and its incredible world-shrinking power. More than 5.5 billion people are online. The capabilities of microchips have increased 100,000-fold in the past 30 years; computing power doubles every 18 months. We have crossed the threshold of A.I., this newest digital chapter that is supposed to make the previous three decades look basically analog by comparison. This whole march of human cultural production—incalculable progress—and the one constant that has survived and adapted and thrived? The scam.
Do not give any financial advisor money. You should only be transferring money to a well known company (Schwab or Fidelity for example) where you can see 24/7 that your money is still there. Because the risk of losing it all is just too much, it happens daily everywhere. Like with this guy near me: Detroit investment fund owner sentenced for wire fraud.
Middlebrooks is the former majority owner, CEO, chief investment officer and portfolio manager for a private hedge fund called EIA All Weather Alpha Fund 1 Partners [“private hedge fund” and “Alpha” are dead giveaways]
Investigators said the hedge fund owner told clients he was able to exploit “inefficiencies” in global equity markets and yield large returns for his investors. However, the fund failed to produce predicted returns and resulted in large losses. [to the tune of $30 Million smh]
ODDZ & ENDZ
I really enjoyed this wonderfully written article. Sometimes I wonder what has happened to some people in my life that left an impression on me. But no time to go find them lol. Thank You For Finding Me. As a teenager, I met a stranger who changed the course of my life. Twenty years later, I went looking for him.
The world is so odd sometimes, the internet making everything frictionless and small. DNA mapping and global social profiles that make these serendipitous encounters feel so much less enchanting. It is too easy now to look a person up and judge who they are based on their profile online rather than what is immediately before you. Too easy to set our minds wondering on who they are, where they work, what they post about, who they have mutuals with.
Very cool: The Most Popular Slang the Year You Were Born. “Freak Flag” was mine, yours? Never heard of freak flag by the way. Then again, I do remember when I arrived in the US I totally freaked out when I first heard “shit hit the fan” and I just could not make any sense of what that meant and whether the person actually meant it lol.
Amazing photography: Ocean Photographer of the Year 2025 Finalists.
I blogged about this lady with an incredible story years ago. She had reached out to the author telling her that she shares the same disease with a muscle bound Olympic medalist. When she herself was suffering with a disease that was making her own muscles waste away. Which sounded so absurd when you looked at them. So sad to see she passed away shortly before her book was published: The Most Interesting Email I Ever Received: Remembering the Incredible Life of DIY Geneticist Jill Viles. In 2013, ProPublica reporter David Epstein was contacted by a woman with a wild story and a batch of photos she believed were clues to the mystery of her condition. Turns out, she was right. In her own words from her book:
“Every gain I’d made in learning more about my genetic disease had involved some type of deception — to do my family’s underground blood draw in 1996 required that phlebotomy supplies be lifted from a hospital and a nurse secretly visit our home; gaining journalist David Epstein’s interest began with a wild exaggeration in my email subject line: ‘Woman with muscular dystrophy, Olympic Medalist—same mutation’; and I’d adopted the lexicon of a research scientist to gain a client rate for Priscilla’s genetic testing (the cost for clients was half what was charged to individual patients).”
TRAVEL
You think Hyatt will introduce another brand catering to this crowd? The 10 best nude beaches in the US, ranked by travelers. I have never received an invitation to fly or stay for free from any airline or hotel. Maybe one of these establishments sends me one so I can bare it all in my review? Lol. I think we are higher on the “entertaining” part of the blog mission today for some reason, enjoy it while it lasts.
I just could never do this even if I had the money: Luxury cruise ship’s $1.8M ‘unlimited stay’ package includes queen bed, ‘premium’ soaps and 400 destinations.
The Odyssey is the world’s first perpetual cruise ship, designed for long-term living and travel. It offers a rotating itinerary that covers 425 destinations across 147 countries on a 3½-year cycle.
I found this at the Sixt car rental website and it is amazing: Top International Bridges that Define a Skyline.
It’s time again: 12 Scenic Drives in the USA for Fall Foliage. Did the Michigan Upper Peninsula drive which was special. Not only for the beautiful scenery but it was the very first trip after Covid…
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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.
Wednesday Alaska Airlines revealed its new frequent flyer program. Along with a new premium airline credit card and two refreshed credit cards as well. Mileage Plan is now Atmos Rewards. People hate the name for some reason. I even read somewhere that it is a made up word. It is not! It comes from a Greek word (of course) that means “vapor” or “steam” actually. Or, air. Hope it does not eventually become hot air. Ok, long intro. This post was already super long and I had not even covered all things Atmos yet. So I am going to hold myself from reiterating the numerous changes and instead provide links to the best blog posts where you can learn all about Atmos and just inject my unique experienced no bullshit take on it. So please see below two new Atmos paragraphs to single out the new program and credit cards.
Never really cared about Emirates but I sure hope this does not start a trend: Chase To End Access To Emirates Transfers On 10/16/25. I mean, really, who cares? Emirates makes Delta Skymiles look generous.
Nice scores if you can find them: 8 Business Class Flights You Can Book for 50K Points (Or Less!).
Yes I read the Bangkok Post, it is in my daily web bookmarks round I do: IHG’s Premium Brand to Make Thailand Debut. For some reason, I never felt that Voco looked that premium. Never stayed in one yet, anyone who did please comment. Maybe I check it out later this year in Bangkok. I have some IHG Rewards points left, maybe enough for one night? If an IHG rep sees this please offer me a complimentary stay and I will make sure my millions of Instagram and YouTube fans learn all about it and you watch the bookings roll #inanotheruniverse.
This looks amazing: SWISS Unveils New SWISS First Grand Suite.
Love these super easy promos: Earn Bonus Atmos Rewards Points For Every Goal This Season. I signed up my daughter, hope Seattle Reign scores many goals this season as it is 100 Alaska Airlines miles per goal.
ATMOS REWARDS
To learn all the details about it: All You Need to Know About Atmos Rewards.
I really like how Alaska Airlines is managed. The airline keeps growing steadily and is a formidable competitor. And it likes to do things a little bit differently and, dare to say it, more consumer friendly than the other legacy airlines. Still limited footprint but with the acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines and more routes flying internationally out of Seattle makes this airline worth watching. I wish the airline had more flights out of my home airport in Detroit (only to Seattle and now seasonally to Anchorage) instead of having to at least consider Delta (and still avoid) which totally dominates Detroit. Getting value of Alaska miles vs Delta miles is like comparing night to day (or hell to heaven lol).
I was convinced the airline will join the revenue based ways of every other airline and it surprised everyone again for giving members a choice how to count the miles points earned: Based on distance flown, fare price paid or even segments flown (all Hawaiian inter island passengers are celebrating this). The choice will start in 2026 and you can change it once a year based on how you think it will serve you better. Which, of course, adds some complexity to the program. I have no doubt most will never change this, you know, inertia rules. Except us in this hobby who breathe this stuff.
I also like how it will standardize elite level names to the standard Silver/Gold/Platinum/Titanium and doing away with them MVP and 00k names, good riddance. The addition of point transfers to hotels is interesting and no big deal. Thumbs up for points never expiring, I hate it when I have to track expiration dates (looking at you American Airlines). Elite qualification targets stay the same and next year Platinum goes up by 5k and Titanium by 35k (gulp). Points pooling and free WiFi coming, can’t argue with the customer friendliness of these at all.
The upgrade changes will be good for the Titanium elites for sure, especially if they can score the international business class upgrades on the day of departure. Maybe the Platinum elites see at least some upgrades too. Don’t expect any upgrades at Silver and Gold elite status levels. Award charts stay the same…for now. I also expect that Titanium level to go up past 150k in the very near future after the airline realizes how many make it there by spending on the new uncapped credit cards #ohoh. Also, you can earn status points with many partners as well.
It now has several milestone awards at each 10,000 point interval to incentivize members to continue flying. Which always made sense and I am glad to see more airlines are now doing this finally.
I like how the airline continues uniquely targeting for promotions and freebies the communities it serves. For example, Hawaii residents can enjoy perks and freebies with the Huaka‘i Community. And Alaska residents can join in the fun with the Club 49 Community.
And free WiFi is coming for all with Starlink for all Atmos Rewards members as it is supposed to start rolling out in December through early 2027.
Still, I like how this airline is charting its own course and not falling right behind the legacy airlines and doing things their way. Looking at you Delta especially. So, let’s root for the little guy here! Also, which airline do you think Alaska Airlines will buy next? Can we see a day Alaska and Southwest merge? Crazier mergers have happened in the past, why not?
TRAVEL REWARDS CREDIT CARDS
More content today about the current state of the industry and where it is going. For someone who has been around this space for 30+ years it is kind of surreal how mainstream this hobby has become. I long for the days when we were a small collection of weird freaks scoring legendary deals non stop and how rare these have increasingly become over the years, sad.
I am starting to think AmexPlatinum may go to $995 annual fee. At the New York Times: If You’ll Pay $800 for a Credit Card, You’re in Demand. Credit card companies and airlines are in a race for customers who spend the most money — and that is making it harder for many other customers to score deals and perks. Thanks to blog reader Sam for passing this article along to me. The excerpt below is how the article begins and just nails it imho:
It’s getting harder to be a travel hacker. For years, savvy consumers found ways to squeeze every last drop of value out of travel credit cards and loyalty programs run by banks and airlines. But the companies have become increasingly sophisticated about closing loopholes and limiting certain perks. The latest changes to some travel cards include much higher annual fees and more coupon-like benefits that points-and-miles experts say will make it harder to easily score big deals or unlock access to business class seats and other premium services.
Another one along the same lines: Travel Cards Are Entering a New Era … & It’s An All-Out Race to The Top.
While the money they get from these high-priced annual fees is undoubtedly a motive, what they really want is your wallet share. By raising prices to a point where travelers have to choose between their card and the competition, they’re hoping to force you to move on from the other cards in your arsenal. By making their premium travel card the only one in your wallet, the bank is able to capture additional fees on every dollar you’re spending … often in non-bonus categories. Considering the wealthiest 10% of Americans – the type that wouldn’t blink at an $800 per year credit card – now make up half of consumer spending, those additional swipe fees add up, in a hurry. But there’s even more to it than that. Once you’ve got their top travel card, they can try to sell you other bank products and services like checking and savings accounts, home and auto loans, and investment advice. That high-priced credit card is just the bait they’re using to reel you in to their broader ecosystem.
But as the fees grow higher – quickly nearing $1,000 per year – it’s getting harder to justify holding even one of these cards, let alone two or three. Sure, the banks keep adding new features and benefits to help justify the fee hike. But every time they do, it feels like less of an investment in my future travels and more of an added burden to spend money I otherwise wouldn’t have…It’s getting to the point where I’m ready to drop a few of these premium cards in the name of savings and simplicity … and I can’t be alone…At some point, the math stops working – and for many cardholders, that breaking point may already be here. [No, you are not alone]
Wait, another mainstream media article, this one from the WSJ: Americans Pull Back From an Epic Credit-Card Binge. Some really sad stats in this one:
After racking up $72,000 in credit-card debt, her monthly payments had swelled to $2,800, she said. That was more than her mortgage and car loan combined. The 27-year-old medical-sales representative from San Antonio had gone on a three-year shopping spree that included a $6,700 water softener, $4,000 for Christmas gifts and food, and trips to Miami and Orlando, Fla. She took banks up on their introductory offers and points, and felt as though she was staying ahead by making minimum payments. “I was seeing credit cards as monopoly money,” said Zurita-Jackson, who has paid off $30,000 in the six months since abandoning credit. She now relies on cash and a debit card. [Credit cards can be weapons of mass destruction in the hands of some people smh]
Credit-card interest rates hover around 22% on average. The share of Americans only making the minimum payments on credit cards is near a record…[If you are reading this right now and you are making minimum payments on your credit cards, please LEAVE, you do not belong here. Come back after you have paid off ALL credit card balances, every single one!]
This is a good reminder roundup: Credit Cards With Spending Bonuses That Offer Extra Value.
It’s a new reality for Chase folks: (Update) Chase Does Away With 48-Month Signup Eligibility In Favor Of Proprietary Eligibility Determination (‘Chase Pop Up Jail’).
Update 8/18/25: Numerous reports indicate Chase is now being pretty strict with approvals even beyond 48 months. Possibly limiting customers to one lifetime bonus on Sapphire Preferred or Reserved combined. It’s still possible the ‘lifetime’ restriction will go away after a certain number of years and it’s possible that some people will still get approved in less than 48 months. Again, it never hurts to apply and you’ll see a pop-up if you are not eligible for the bonus. You can then decide to apply for the card without a bonus, if you’d like. But I wouldn’t necessarily downgrade after 48 months with intent to apply again since it’s far from certain you’ll get the bonus offer anyway. Note, you are eligible to get the bonus on the Sapphire Reserve for Business card, even if you’ve previously gotten the signup bonus on any other personal or business Chase card as it’s a different product line.
As Chase appears to have a failed relaunch of the Sapphire Reserve cards, Amex has been taking notes and it appears the response/refresh will be punishing. And it may have already started: Amex Adding Over 400 Properties to Fine Hotels + Resorts and The Hotel Collection Programs. And of course letting the rumor come out that it plans to increase the FHR credits from $200 to $600 and finally add it to the Business Platinum card version as well.
It’s about time: American Express Adds Signup Bonus Tracker.
Hope I score a decent retention offer to at least consider before I decide what to do with my own Amex Business Platinum card: What’s A Good Retention Offer? Current Ones From Amex, Chase, & Citi.
NEW OFFERS:
BREAKING: 125k CHASE Sapphire Reserve: As I mentioned earlier in this post, Chase appears to get the message and finally “refreshed” the Sapphire Reserve offer. At least the bank is not sitting on its hands. I still think Chase execs are scared awaiting the full Amex response being telegraphed deliberately. Chase raised the Signup Bonus to 125,000 from 100,000 points. Which is great of course. But it also withdrew the $500 statement travel credit in the original offer, boo. Then again, you know, getting an extra 25,000 point is certainly a lot more flexible. 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.
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, it is surprising and love it.
Looks like Barclay’s is giving these away: Barclays 80,000 Hawaiian Airlines Bonus ($99 Annual Fee). No affiliate link with this one.
BANK OF AMERICA ALASKA AIRLINES THREE NEW ATMOS CREDIT CARDS
100K AND 25,000 Point Global Companion Award Bank of America Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards Summit Visa Infinite Card: The new premium credit card we have been waiting for a while. $395 Annual Fee. Fairly low $6k minimum spend in first three months. Earns 3x on Alaska/Hawaiian Airlines purchases, dining and foreign transactions, 1x on everything else. 10% bonus points if you have an eligible Bank of America account, so the 3x becomes 3.3x oh la la. Can earn 100k Global Companion Award cert if spend reaches $60k during the year. 8 Alaska Airlines lounge day passes and 8 Wi-Fi passes every year (2 per quarter). Free checked bag for cardholder and up to six on same reservation. 10,000 status points every anniversary. 2 status points for every $1 spent, uncapped. Waived partner award booking and same day change fees. $50 vouchers for cancellations and 2+ hour delays. One free cocktail drink at each lounge visit (through 2026). Points sharing with up to 10 Atmos Rewards members. 20% off in flight purchases. $120 statement credit for Global Entry/TSA Pre. If you had requested to be waitlisted for this card you should have received an email with an application link that can earn an additional 5,000 points (on top of the 100,000).
80k Bank of America Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards Ascent Visa Signature Card: $95 annual fee. Comes with a $99 Companion Fare. $4k minimum spend in first four months. 3x on Alaska/Hawaiian Airlines purchases. 2x on gas, EV charging, cable, streaming and local transit, 1x on everything else. Earns 1 status point per $3 spent (up to 30k status points in 2025 and uncapped starting in 2026). 10% bonus points if you have an eligible Bank of America account. Free checked bag for cardholder and up to six on same reservation. Preferred boarding. 20% inflight purchases. $100 off annual Alaska Lounge membership. No foreign transaction fees.
80k Bank of America Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards Business Visa Card: $95 annual fee. Comes with a $99 Companion Fare. $5k minimum spend in first three months. 3x on Alaska/Hawaiian Airlines purchases. 2x on gas, EV charging, shipping and local transit, 1x on everything else. Earns 1 status point per $3 spent (up to 30k status points in 2025 and uncapped starting in 2026). 10% bonus points if you have an eligible Bank of America account. Free checked bag for cardholder and up to six on same reservation. 20% off inflight purchases. $100 off Alaska Airlines Lounge membership. No foreign transaction fees.
Per Frequent Miler:
Bank of America Application Tips
- 3/12 or 7/12 Rule: You won’t be approved if you have opened 3 or more accounts, with any bank, in the past 12 months. For those with Bank of America deposit accounts, the rule changes to 7+ accounts.
- 2/3/4 Rule: Max 2 consumer cards per rolling 2 months, 3 per rolling 12 months, and 4 per rolling 24 months.
- 5 card limit: You will not get approved for a new consumer card if you already have 5 consumer BOA cards open
- Get Same Card Again: With some BOA cards, must wait 24 months after either opening or cancelling, depending upon the card.
- Hard inquiries are usually combined into 1 when initiated within 30 days but there have been reports of TransUnion not combining.
Click here to check your application status
If denied, call reconsideration here: (800) 732-9194 (8am-7pm ET Mon-Fri); 888-782-7717 (business cards);
Let me know if you have any “questions” about these cards and need “help” with them.
I will speak my mind about the cards in the MY ACTION AND BLOG BUZZING section below.
Let’s go back to regular programming next…
EXPIRING OFFERS:
We have a great REFERRAL offer from Capital One: 75,000 Points + $300 Travel Credit Capital One Venture. If you value simplicity, this card earns 2x points everywhere (and 5x on hotels and rental cars booked on the Capital One travel portal) with a $95 annual fee. No foreign transactions fees, Visa Signature benefits and credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.
Capital One is at it again with a revised offer for the 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.
After waiting for Citi to introduce a premium credit card, it finally arrived. Please click the link below to get all the info you need about the card and email me if you want to apply.
Citi Strata Elite Review: 80,000 Points Bonus, $595 Annual Fee, $300 Hotel & $200 Splurge Credit
Citi has a new offer for 30,000 Thank You points for its Strata no annual fee card. Very good earning rates for a no annual fee card: 5x on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on cititravel.com, 3x spent at Supermarkets, Select Transit, Gas & EV Charging Stations, 3x spent on an eligible Self-Select Category of your choice, 2x spent at Restaurants and 1x on All Other Purchases.
Chase Southwest Personal Cards: 100,000 Points with $4,000 Spend In 5 Months. 100k Signup bonus for all 3 personal cards is excellent. If you like 100k bonuses and free bags it makes sense too as each Southwest point could be worth around 1.3 cents, so we are talking $1,300 travel value. You know where to find them, thank you. All three 100k offers end September 17, 2025.
My still favorite bank Chase is at it again. We have two new 100k offers on United business cards. Actually, the United Business card is decent, especially for people who have United elite qualification aspirations. I have it myself and not keeping it past the first year by the way. Ends November 5, 2025.
The STANDARD Amex Platinum offer is now up to 175,000 Membership Rewards points. The annual fee is $695 and the minimum spend is $8,000 over six months. 5x on Airfare and Hotels and 1x on everything else. Superior Centurion lounge coverage and of course Priority Pass lounge membership. No foreign transaction fees. A long list of couponized credits, up to $1,800 if you took advantage of every single one. Which you won’t. The easiest credits are the $200 airline fee credit, the $240 Digital Entertainment credit, up to $200 Uber credit and $200 hotel credit…and many more.
Same deal with the STANDARD Amex Gold card now up to 100,000 Membership Rewards points. The annual fee is $325 and the minimum spend is $6,000 over six months. This card’s main appeal has always been its earning power at 4x for dining worldwide and groceries and 3x on airfare. Crazy couponing comes with it, such as $7 per month on Dunkin Donuts, $10 per month on Uber Cash, $10 per month on 5 Guys/Grubhub, Cheesecake Factory, Wine.com or Goldbelly, two $50 Resy credits for dining per year and $100 hotel credit per year.
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 75K CAPITAL ONE Venture X card has a minimum spend of $4k in the first three 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. 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. Cell phone protection and PRIMARY rental car coverage. Awesome seats at baseball stadiums for just 5k points each. And lots more.
Here are my three TOP CREDIT CARD OFFERS:
The 75k Capital One Venture X card.
The 75k Chase Ink Business Unlimited card.
The 75k CHASE Ink Business Cash card.
BONUS OFFERS NOTIFICATIONS
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MY ACTION AND BLOG BUZZING
So much going on, this blog post is already crazy long, so if you are still here, buckle up 🙂
I am going to be away so I am not applying for any of the Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards credit cards. If I was around, I would be very tempted to go for the 100k+ Summit card. You know, when I first saw it, I kind of felt bad there were no couponized credits that came with it lol. So, it is straight up $395 annual fee, no way around it. Of course it almost always makes sense for the first year but will I even be keeping it after that? Probably not, unless I lived in the West coast. Especially Seattle. Maybe my kids would be interested in it. But they don’t fly much for business so reaching for elite status is not realistic. And, you know, there is another bank to deal with. And Bank of America is not the easiest bank to do business with. I think allowing 3x for foreign purchases will not last long. At all. I mean, if I moved away from the US this will be the main credit card I use, 3x on everything? Unreal. If Alaska replaced Delta in Detroit, hell yeah I would keep it. But that is not going to happen in my lifetime most likely.
So, the two $95 annual fee cards earning 80k miles are a much better deal imho. Maybe when I get back from my two big trips I am going to circle back to these Alaska Airlines cards, maybe by early 2026. Bank of America sure likes to see less credit inquiries so taking a four month break from this credit card application space is going to help. Hopefully by that time my Alaska Airlines miles balances are much lower. There is a long thread on Reddit/churning about application data points. Finally, it just hit me…no Priority Pass lounge membership that comes with the Summit card. I mean, we are so used to PP being attached to so many cards. And someone again over at Reddit had some fun with the acronyms like Alaska Airlines (AS) Summit and calling it the ASS card, LOL.
I made a few more bookings for the upcoming trip to Greece. I am flying my wife and daughter out of Kefalonia island to Athens on Aegean Airlines and managed to book them one night at the Sofitel hotel inside the airport. The hotel night was very expensive but it was covered with the $250 credit from the Capital One Venture card and the remainder credit on my Capital One Venture X card. I am out of Capital One travel credits now and I am okay with that. They will need some sleep since it is the day after the big fat Greek wedding we are attending. Me and son are staying one more night at the island, we still have not made any arrangements where/how to travel from there. Then I burned 88,000 United miles to fly my wife in Business Class from Athens to Vienna to Washington Dulles on Austrian Airlines and then United Airlines to Detroit. I am still working to get my daughter to Seattle and I need to make sure she gets there in time to start a new role at Microsoft after her promotion. I could have booked her on Condor but, you know, Condor likes to cancel a lot. So I am still working on this segment…
We are shifting my wife’s original travel plan for Thailand/Malaysia in November. She is going to fly directly to Bangkok and arrive the same day as our daughter. Instead of flying first to Kuala Lumpur to spend a week to see her mommy and both of us flying back to Detroit together from Bangkok. We now will both fly back to Kuala Lumpur from Bangkok in the back end of the trip so we can attend my mother in law’s 90th birthday. Then I split to come back home and she spends a whole week back in Malaysia before she returns to the US. So I have some more miles burning to do but need to focus on Greece now.
Hyatt customer service is hurting lately. Laying off so many US based staff shows. A bizarre situation happened with one of my reservations. I thought I had it, heck, I had the email for it. When I decided to cancel it I got error messages. Hyatt would not recognize my confirmation number. So I called. After the first rep hung up on me I was told that that reservation has already been canceled. I don’t remember doing that. But I did try to change the reservation with a rep over the phone but only wanted to shift the reservation one night earlier. Apparently, the rep canceled it. At the end, it was all good because our plans changed and did not want to stay that night. But how bizarre was this. So, check your reservations carefully people! And double check the Hyatt reps these days.
Son plus one is in Montreal this past week. All on Air Canada flights. He managed to barely escape the strike chaos on flights to Canada. We’ll see if the lucky streak stays alive for their flights back from Canada this weekend.
The kitchen/master bathroom remodeling project meetings continue. And then we made the trip to the appliances store. And, you know, I realized we are going to spend some money and I always think when that happens what travel rewards credit card Signup Bonuses I can accompany the big spend with. You know, maximizing rewards is in my DNA I guess. But since we will be absent for long stretches in late 2025 I think I am going to shift some of the spend to my personal World of Hyatt Visa to earn the 2 elite night credits per $5k spend. Which will make requalifying for World of Hyatt Globalist at 60 elite night credits super easy now. I may even cancel the 3 nights I have at the top luxury Hyatt Place in Flint, Michigan. Ok, maybe not top lol. I am projected to hit 55 now without the Visa spend for appliances (but including the 3 nights in Flint). I have one or two more nights at the Thessaloniki Hyatt Regency in September for sure to book. And I am thinking to hit the new Park Hyatt in Kuala Lumpur on the way back to the US from in December. So many Hyatt points so little time #firstworldproblems.
I had a cortisone injection targeting the left S1 nerve in my back that, according to University of Michigan second opinion and highly regarded doc, is what is causing my feet issues. After five days it may be too early to see if it worked at all. Not much has changed so far, still the weird numbing and tingling sensations continue. I am now resigned to see myself as a former runner, so sad.
Going on get everything ready for Greece beast mode this weekend. Follow me on Instagram to keep up with my trip to Greece. Maybe one day I will post a video on YouTube, my 67 subscribers there are eagerly awaiting a new video after months lol.
I DO have a separate page listing my other affiliate links HERE including: Rakuten and Top Cash Back.
I am giving myself a challenge for the summer, average 5 credit card sales and 15 Buy Me a Coffee sales per month.
June:
Credit card sales: 7 Buy me a Coffee sales: 1
July:
Credit card sales: 6 Buy me a Coffee sales: 24
August:
Credit card sales: 6 Buy me a Coffee sales: 9
Update: Thank you to blog readers for the support. I guess you don’t want me to quit. I thought I had a good shot of failing the challenge above so I can gracefully move on. I am going to keep this challenge going and roll off the earlier month as we go forward. Going to hit year 13 blogging here in less than three months #wow.
HOT CREDIT CARD OFFERS:
200k CHASE Sapphire Reserve Business, 125k CHASE Sapphire Reserve, 175k AMEX Platinum, 100k CHASE Southwest Plus/Premier/Priority (ENDS 9/17), 75k CHASE Ink Business Cash, 75k CAPITAL ONE Venture X, 75k CHASE Ink Business Unlimited, 100k CAPITAL ONE Spark Cash, 150k AMEX Business Platinum, 200k CAPITAL ONE Spark Cash Plus, 75k CHASE Sapphire Preferred, 30k CHASE United Gateway, 100k AMEX Gold, 90k CHASE Ink Business Preferred, 75k CAPITAL ONE Venture Rewards, 80k CHASE Southwest Performance Business, 15k AMEX Blue Business Plus and many more!
As of today, I have burned 1,248,567 miles/points year to date (2,027,816 in 2024) and have 4,239,732 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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First!
From Hell
Can’t beat Jeff Epstein! He’s probably not sleeping in much …
Thanks for all the links …
I hope your docs figure out what sort of interactions
there were from the injection. That sounds grim.
Wow, between the big annual extreme croquet tournament (Qualifier games) this weekend and all this good stuff to read here, well, there’s not much time left over! Thanks as always!
Signed up to be notified on the Alaska card last year so I think I got 500 points for that and am seriously thinking to go for it what with living so near to Seattle. I see it as a one year card though. I do like that 3x on foreign spending and like you, I don’t think that will last.
Weather is great this week and so gonna go enjoy it!
Sitting around for the past 10 days doing nothing. Would you like a cc link via email? Help me keep my job, boss is about to DOGE me out of it!
I feel like Drew just leaving…This post just bombed judging from the silence that fell on it.
And I thought it was one of my very best.
Maybe I just need a break…
Off to Ludington next
Managed to find award space for daughter out of Athens on the same flight as her mom for 80k United miles. Flying them both on Austrian Airlines business class to Vienna and then Washington IAD. Then they split to Detroit and Seattle on United, hooray!
Second, for the record, all these miles/points bloggers I have been linking to for years have never linked back to me. Never.
And these are the same guys who go out of their way to link back to the self proclaimed travel thought leader who posts the most vile clickbait shit ever smh. Just today (from Milesfeed, I don’t click on clickbait shit):
Flight Attendant from BA Safety Video Found Naked, High On Meth in Toilet…
Non Stop to Disgusting: Passenger Drapes Bare Foot Across The Aisle Onto Woman’s Armrest-While His Other Foot Gets a Massage..(no doubt this one came with shocking foot pics wtf)
I need to take a break from blogging me thinks…
Your Atmos explanation reminded me of the scene from My Big Fat Greek Wedding- Give me any word and I show you the greek root. LOL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXt0VCPKfQ4
I’m actually experiencing FOMO of the Atmos cards. Finally one which I wish we could apply for. Oh well, have to remind myself keep life simple. BTW did you notice that Andaz Bangkok has something going on with the Hyatt website? It only comes up for me if I search for it specifically by name, not by city. I dare say there will be no December opening and wonder if it has been pushed way back by earthquake damage.
As expected, Lufthansa availability has shot up a few days before departing. Now seeing availability on UA for LH Business class starting at 110k and in LH First at 165k. Passed on it, keeping my UA Polaris seats that comes with many hours eating/drinking in Neward Polaris lounge. Oh, over at Air Canada Aeroplan I saw LH First via Chicago ORD at just 100k….Soooooo tempting. But I don’t have high confidence that UA will get me to ORD from Detroit with just about an hour layover. In the meantime, I already chose my meal on UA Newark to Brussels, went with the reliable chicken selection 🙂
@ucipass: You picked up on that, I was thinking of the same movie when I made that comment.
@Vicky: Yeah, if I was not departing I would go for the Summit card most likely, oh well. Yeah, something is up with the Bangkok Andaz for sure.
Haha…Epstein
Yes, tardy again…lousy brown 11th place ribbon
Thanks Buzz for all the links, halfway through that fascinating article about Jill.
Have a great week
On my way…just like last time I will likely give up posting Greece trip updates on Instagram. Until then, enjoy. Thumbs up for the United Polaris Lounge at Newark EWR.
And thanks David, yeah that article blew my mind…maybe I get the book when I retire 🙂
https://www.instagram.com/p/DNynHpRXiEH/?igsh=MXJlbTR3Y3o2YmExNg==
I’m trying to figure how to time doing the Hawaiian personal card, the Atmos premium card, and the Atmos business card. Good old fashioned AOR?
I guess it’s just my age (same as you) but I’m really finding your investing links to be increasingly valuable.
Oh those AOR days…If there was a cc combo screaming AOR…this may be it? Good luck. I have a link for the Atmos premium card if you didn’t get that email giving the extra 5k.
Thanks for the feedback on the investing links. The more I think about it the more weird it is to have this combo, investing and miles/points together. Then again, this is what may differentiate me? I don’t know….just noticed the travel thought leader all the other bloggers kiss up to posted today:
American Airlines passenger plants dirty socks on tray table while crew looks away
And I can’t even $#%&*!
Anyway, hello from Brussels The Loft lounge. United Polaris was great…on the ground. In the air? Not so much. Slept fine. FA service so slow and indifferent. And food so average. And I skipped breakfast to atone for my sins at the EWR Polaris lounge lol.
Off to Thessaloniki on Aegean next.