Travel Guide - ThePointsOfLife

Keep Vs. Cancel: Chase 2016

thepointsoflife

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April 11, 2016

This is my favorite type of post. The Keep Vs. Cancel is always a good time. If Chase’s 5/24 rule truly comes into being then these will be the cards that remain in my Chase portfolio.

Slate: Keep because it is one of my oldest cards with Chase.
Freedom: Keep for the same reason.
Sapphire: Keep because this is the free version that still has plenty of great benefits.
Marriott: I just received this card and paid the annual fee so obviously I am going to keep it this year. I will hold onto it next year because I want to see what happens with SPG.
IHG: I am keeping this card indefinitely because of the free annual night.
Hyatt: I just was approved again for this card and will be keeping it for the foreseeable future because of the free annual night that trumps the annual fee.
INK: I’ve never been able to escape the annual fee but this is my most consistent method for getting URs. I’m keeping this for life.
United: This card is also new for 2016. I would like to keep it because of the free luggage and my proximity to EWR but that’s a decision for 2017.
British: Cancel in September. I’m still 10k short of receiving the last 25k Avios points and need to figure out how I’m going to do that.

So basically, everything stays till TPOL gets more clarity on what’s happening in the points world. I am proud to say that I recalled all of these cards from memory, a necessary skill to have when facing a tough recon call.

If churning is dead then the Ritz will be the card that got away

Chase Recon: How to Get It Done

Points

thepointsoflife

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April 11, 2016

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I had the Hyatt card then cancelled it in order to get the Marriott with the hopes that I could get the Hyatt card again before the mythical 5/24 rule took over. I applied and an hour later was still on hold with Chase. This was the longest recon call next to my most resilient recon call with Wells Fargo.

The questions kept coming one after another: Why do you have 12 new cards on your account? Are you in financial distress? Why do you have so much credit with Chase? Why do you want more credit? Why do you have cards with Chase that are open that you do not use?

Clearly, this representative was meticulous so I explained everything in a thorough, candid way. Let’s take one question at a time:

Why do you have so much credit with Chase? I’ve been banking with Chase since they were Bank One and one of my first credit cards was with Chase. Over the years I have built a strong relationship with Chase and have never been late on a payment or carried a balance.
Why do you have cards with Chase that are open that you do not use? I know I have cards like the Slate that I do not use but I was told that keeping these older cards open raises my credit score by elongating my credit history.
Why do you have 12 new cards on your account? As a business traveler, I’m almost forced to have so many cards and I am almost forced to keep up with the new ones in order to save money. I know that on the surface that may not make sense but let me give you some examples. I’m in New York now so I fly United. If I don’t have the United card and need to check my golf clubs then I have to pay for baggage fees. I used to stay at SPG hotels the most but now with the merger I am switching to Marriott and that card may come in handy. The same is true of the Hyatt card which gives me late checkout and other great benefits that I would not receive if I didn’t have it.
Are you in financial distress? The only stress I have is knowing that I have to spend $1 on this card to get this point and $1 on that card to get that point.
Why do you want more credit? I certainly do not want more credit. My reason for opening this card is for the benefits alone. I’ll gladly shift credit from one card to another.

Ultimately, I was approved. Now, more than ever, it is critical to know everything that appears on your credit report and to make sure you have logical, honest reasons as to why you are applying for the card in the first place.

2015-09-04 15.53.36 — The Hyatt Mexico City

Late CC Payment: A Lesson in Checking All Cards

Points

thepointsoflife

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April 9, 2016

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Late CC Payment: A Lesson in Checking All Cards

When you’re a master churner, you may find that you have more credit cards than friends. This could be due to one of the following:

a) You are an anti-social nerd that spends all of your time hoarding points and updating your Excel spreadsheet.
b) You posted too many pics from flying Etihad that nobody likes you anymore.
c) You have forty credit cards and you don’t have time for that many friends.
d) All of the above.

If you share any of these problems with TPOL then I advise you to pay attention to this public service announcement: Check the balance of your accounts every month, even the ones that you never use.

For no particular reason, I decided to check my Wells Fargo Propel Card balance, the card with the toughest approval process in the industry. To my surprise, I found that I am 13 days past due on a payment. I haven’t used this card in months so I was shocked at this news. Apparently, American Airlines charged me $98 for a flight to Los Angeles that was not properly cancelled.

Now, I have to call AA and Wells Fargo, the worst bank in the world, to straighten out this mess. As a rule, I set my due dates to the 28th for all my cards and have a fool-proof system for not missing any payments. I didn’t account for the fact that the fool in the system could be someone besides me.

Havent logged in since March. That's going to change. — Haven’t logged in since March. That’s going to change.

MetroCard Misery: TPOL Supports Hillary

Scholar

thepointsoflife

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April 8, 2016

7

Alexander the private citizen is an undecided voter. The candidate pool leaves much to be desired.

TPOL the blogger is a single issue voter. He, as a New York transplant, believes that in comprehensive subway reform. For that reason, and that reason alone, TPOL is supporting Hillary in her time of distress. If you haven’t seen the clip, presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, had trouble swiping her MetroCard in the Bronx.

Political pundits have pounced on Hillary’s inability to maneuver the metro as a sign that she is disconnected from the common people. This is only half-true. The reality is that the MetroCard is a flimsy piece of junk that occasionally doesn’t swipe properly. It is just one of many issues that face New York’s transit system. Hillary’s campaign advisers should have anticipated that this could happen. A quick practice session would have served her well. Obviously, Hillary doesn’t ride the subway and this stunt backfired but it’s not as big a deal as is being made by the media. The real issue, the archaic metro system, should be the story.

几点钟？World Time Buddy Knows

thepointsoflife

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April 7, 2016

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If you’re like me then time zones get you all sorts of messed up. Living in Arizona, I didn’t have to worry about time zones as the world revolved around us W Scottsdale vagabonds. Living in New York, I need my office to have those front desk clocks which shows the time from all over the world. (Somehow they are never synchronized.) Calls need to be made to London, Paris, or even the House of Miles in Colorado and I need to be certain that I am calling at the right time.

Conceptually, it is easy to compute. If it is 10AM in NY it’s 7AM in Los Angeles. Having said that, I won’t share how many times I made mistakes and tried to back pedal by saying, “Oh, I thought our conversation was scheduled for…”

To save you the embarrassment, I use the tool World Time Buddy that takes the guess-work out of planning your call to Dubai or to solve the riddle for how time travel is possible if you fly from Tahiti to New Zealand.

Buy SPG Points? Fool Me Once…

The Deal Ticker

thepointsoflife

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April 6, 2016

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I rarely buy points and when I do I prefer Dos Equis or ones that don’t devalue. SPG has a promotion through the end of April that I will not be participating in. SPG is my favorite program (for now) but I see no value in buying points when the future of the program is very much in jeopardy. Add in what happened with Alaska killing of Shower Class and you’d have to have a great reason to jump in on this deal.

Anyone risk loving enough to do this?

Disqus Is Dead: An Invite to Trolls

The Deal Ticker

thepointsoflife

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April 6, 2016

14

You asked. I listened. Disqus is no longer the weapon of choice for TPOL’s comments. I’ve gone back to WordPress’ old papyrus platform where you can put in a fake email and talk all the ish you want to satisfy your little troll heart. Or you can login with your Twitter or Facebook. This revelation came as a result of zero comments on my funny Ping Pong Show post where TPOL is the #1 image result. Surely someone has something to say.

The choice is yours America! Anonymous angry Trump troll comments or the other not so great alternatives.

TPOL Is #1 in Thai Ping Pong Diplomacy

Food & Drink

thepointsoflife

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April 6, 2016

4

We fight hard for our name, for our brand, for our reputation. Then in a nanosecond it’s all taken away. That’s one way to look at this interesting story. Another is to say that all press is good press and have a great laugh.

Here’s what happened to TPOL on the fourth day of April.

A friend of mine messaged me this:

Hey man, so random but my friend is Thailand and he sends this photo and say my new friend and I at a ping pong show

I am like that’s my friend Alex but he took the image from google image

You are number one under ping pong show

I had so many questions to ask Tim, none of which were why is your friend at a ping-pong show. The first question that came into my narcissistic mind was why is your friend saying that he knows me and that he is with me. The second, consistent with my motivations for the first, was if I truly was number one in Google.

Well, so much for wondering. There I am in all of my glory, TPOL with a bucket of ping-pong balls. Before I give you the Shaggy It Wasn’t Me explanation, I want you to appreciate how random it is that some guy that I do not know Googled Ping Pong Show Bangkok, found my picture, sent it to my friend who recognized that it was me, and then forwarded it on.

And now for the explanation. First, Google is not doing its job. Please search ‘ping-pong show Bangkok’ (preferably from your work computer) and read the caption of the photo.

If you were a would-be ping-pong patron, you would be disappointed with this search result as it does not give you the information that your twisted heart desires. Luckily for the searcher, he or she would come across the Guns & Butter: Bangkok Travel Guide and quickly learn all the wonderful things there are to do in Bangkok, ping-pong diplomacy not included.

If you take a second to read the post, you will notice that Ping Pong Show falls within the PPF as it is something that I highly advise against doing. Indeed, I wrote the following for what not to do in Bangkok:

The Ping Pong Show

Now for what you should not do: First, the obvious that becomes blurred like a copyright infringing Thicke rendition of Marvin Gaye: don’t get arrested. Though I have no experience myself, Locked Up Abroad does not paint a pretty picture of Thai jails. Leave your drugs at home.

Next, don’t drink the mushroom shake! We’ll save that for Guns & Butter: Koh Phangan.

Finally, don’t go see a ping-pong show. From a human rights perspective, it is vile and disgusting. As far as a primitive form of entertainment, it will leave you disappointed.

Note: Those are the impressions of the anonymous that have attended. I am 100% opposed to it.

I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether it is reprehensible or simply good fun to go to the ladyboy show.

See, I told you, it wasn’t me.

Anyone not laughing?

Samsung Fast Charge: Don’t Leave Home Without It

thepointsoflife

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April 5, 2016

2

Samsung Fast Charge: Don’t Leave Home Without It

TPOL updated the My Travel Technology list, a subset of my Packing Guide: Take 1/2 the Clothes, Twice the Money with a new gadget the Samsung S7 Edge which is champagne proof and has a great camera for snapping photos of the toilet in a Park Hyatt.

Though I try to bring as little as possible when I travel, my technology briefcase continues to get heavier and heavier. I recently added my Logitech Mouse, pictured below, to the list of necessities.

Capture — Blog-bloggin is a habit, get like me.

Equally as important is the new Samsung Fast Charge which retails for $80. This handy device charges the phone without having to fumble with wires. This is technology that is long overdue and is a necessity if you are a personality that enjoys a drink or two. Instead of waking up in Saigon, red-eyed, disoriented, and full of angst wondering where your phone could be, you can snooze comfortably knowing that your phone is resting on its own pillow-top mattress fully charged for when you decide to explore. The alternative is to endure the hangover while braving motorbikes with a dead phone because you couldn’t be bothered to charge your phone the night before.

The Samsung Fast Charge: Don’t Leave Home Without It.

TPOL Had Villanova!

Sports Reporter

thepointsoflife

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April 4, 2016

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TPOL has been awful in his sports picks. (see Superbowl 2016, see World Cup, see Final 4 2015) This time around I thought better than posting about who I had winning it all because of my poor track record. That was a mistake. Clearly, the points world deserves to hear what I have to say as a sports analyst. After all, as of April 2016, TPOL meets GLOBALL as Alexander will be a licensed international basketball agent. So yes sports and travel go together. (see Citrus Bowl, see Final Four) Nice work Villanova!