Travel Guide - ThePointsOfLife

Onto the Recon

thepointsoflife

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March 2, 2015

This year I’ve written about what I’m keeping in my wallet in 2015, my hypothesis that churning is getting easier from a software perspective, and how I felt like Vivian at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel while trying to feed THEbird.

Today I did my baby churn consisting of two cards: the 50k United from Chase and the 50k US Airways from Barclays. These are great offers of which I wish I had an affiliate link. Alas, I’m not one of the chosen ones.

As far as those banks are concerned, the days of instant approval are gone. The quick call to the recon department was delayed till tomorrow because both offices were closed.

All of this had me wondering and wishing for two things as an entitled, lazy points churner:

Why can’t I reload THEbird from home? The theatrics of going to Target could be avoided.
Why don’t the banks have a policy like the cell phone companies that allow me to upgrade my card every few months? The calls to recon are like reading for a Hollywood casting call.

These reasonable requests are just like my prayers for a money tree in my backyard that has yet to blossom.

Fraud Protection Alert: REDbird 1st of the Month

thepointsoflife

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March 1, 2015

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Fraud Protection Alert: REDbird 1st of the Month

Wake up, wake up, wake up it’s the 1st of the month
To get up, get up, get up so cash your checks and get up.

Bone Thugs foreshadowed our daily first of the month routine. What they didn’t forecast was the hassle of reloading the bird. I don’t know what is worse: the stares from the Target employees who think I’m doing something illegal or the absurd hold times by the fraud department wondering why I’m making purchases at Target. It’s Target! CVS wasn’t more suspicious?

“$1000 please,” leads to “Sorry, your card is declined,’ leads to hold time leads to please try again and more uncomfortable looks. Brief satisfaction of feeding the bird subsides when I realize that I have to come back to Target again and do it all over again.

All in a day’s work I guess.

Oh God how I love when the 1st come around
Now I’m feelin’ black and mild, headed cross town

Is Credit Card Churning Easier Now?

thepointsoflife

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February 28, 2015

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Is credit card churning easier now? I believe so.

I’m not talking about the reconsideration line calls where you have to explain why having a third Ink is necessary for the vitality of your blooming twitter handle business @myinkcard. Those calls, like job apps, never get any easier when they end in rejection.

I’m speaking about the flurry of going from one app to the next and filling in the information with minimal effort. Case in point: the Citi online application.

credit card churning — Filling it out is so seamless, it makes you long for days of the two browser trick.

Long gone are the days of out of order boxes, overbearing questions, and cumbersome forms. Now, with only a few clicks and minimal character strokes, the range of emotions of your app being processed right in front of your eyes is mere moments away. For me it goes like this:

1. I can handle the rejection.

2. I’ve got enough free points, I deserve a rejection.

3. Come on baby!

4. No recon, no recon, no recon….stop!

5. Yes!

4a. No recon, no recon, no recon….stop!

5b. Damn it, recon whammy!

Rejection, acceptance, or recon purgatory, I postulate that the credit card companies want us to churn. Why else are they making the process more fun and easier than ever before?

Simply the Best: February 2015

TPOL's Best

thepointsoflife

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February 27, 2015

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And February is done. Hope you got your RedBIRD spends in. The end of March marks the one year anniversary for ThePointsOfLife with readership on the incline thanks to joining BoardingArea and thanks to ground breaking content like the International Brew Awards.

Here are the top posts for the month of February:

1. Southwest Devaluation: Gotta Get Away

2. UnFare-Gate And the DOT

I must have put a decimal point in the wrong place or something. Shit. I always do that. I always mess up some mundane detail.

3. Arab on an Airplane

The words “You’ve been randomly selected,” stopped feeling so random when it happened over and over again.

4. Aloft Bangkok: Accept No Substitutes

aloft bangkok hotel — Aloft, part of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, is my favorite everyday hotel chain. Aloft Bangkok is one of my favorite hotels in the world, but why?

5. SQ Givenchy Pajamas: By Air, By Land

My insistence on wearing the SQ garb and milking the celebrity of the greatest pajamas known to man extends beyond the airport. I wear them to the gym, to the bar, and to dining establishments both high-end and low.

6. Guns & Butter: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Carnaval

rio de janeiro carnival — This is a special edition of the Travel Guide as it commemorates one the most fantastic travel experiences, Rio de Janeiro Carnival. (Carnaval en Português)

7. Real Writers Don’t Use Smileys

Today, I assert that smileys should be banned in all forms of communication. It is a sheepish way to make a point.

IBA: Best Go To Brew Abroad

Food & Drink

thepointsoflife

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February 26, 2015

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The International Brew Awards’ first nomination is for Best Go To Brew Abroad.

What’s a ‘go to’ brew? It’s the one that virtually every bar will have regardless of where in the world you are. It doesn’t mean that the beer is your favorite. It just means that in times of emergency you can count on it to be true. It’s comparable to going to McDonald’s or Subway to take a break from local cuisine.

The nominees for Best Go To Brew Abroad are:

1. Corona: You can find your beach anywhere in the world as the pride of Mexico is for sale everywhere. The availability of limes is not as consistent.

2. Heineken: The green bottle that comes from the Netherlands is probably more prevalent than Corona.

In case I forgot that I was in Sweden, Heineken is there to remind me.

3. Carlsberg: The Danish beer continues to pop up in random places.

4. Tiger: This beer whose headquarters are in Singapore is literally the Heineken of Asia-Pacific as it is owned by Heineken International.

5. Budweiser: The King of Beers (not the Czech Budweiser, not Bud Light) is sold and consumed throughout the world.

Which is your Go To beer while abroad? Take the poll and wait for the next category of nominations to find out my choice.

Starwood’s New Chuck E. Cheese Platinum Prizes

Points

thepointsoflife

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February 25, 2015

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Starwood’s New Chuck E. Cheese Platinum Prizes

Last year I failed the Hyatt Diamond Challenge but still received suite upgrades for trying. Those suite upgrades were for the duration of my stay. I used two in Buenos Aires for the Park Hyatt Palacio Duhau and the Park Hyatt Mendoza and am still waiting to go to the Ararat Park Hyatt Moscow this September.

Last year I re-qualified for platinum status with SPG and somehow scratched and clawed my way to staying 50 nights. As a perk, this year SPG has given me 10 Suite Night Awards, something that I would like to hoard but must use before they expire.

Today I learned that instead of electing for a Suite Night Award, SPG is offering alternatives. What could they be I wondered: discount points on stays, midnight checkout, an invitation to NBA All Star Weekend?

None of the above. Instead, SPG is offering the following prizes for all those tickets schemed playing skee ball:

Four free rides with Uber up to $25 each (My SPG stays are usually abroad where taxis don’t cost $25.)
Gift Gold status to a friend or family member (I’d rather book them a room under my name.)
TSA PreCheck fee waiver (What good does this do when I’m still randomly searched?)
$100 Amazon gift card (Compare the price of a suite upgrade even for one night to a $100 gift card and this is not a good deal.)
Donate $100 to UNICEF (Donating to a charity out of your own pocket gets you a tax rebate something that SPG probably doesn’t provide.)

I’m not so whiny to complain about free but I was hoping that there would at least be something exciting in the list like more tokens for air hockey. Alas, I’ll have to confine myself to the royal suite at the Waldorf Astoria.

Wait, that’s Hilton.

starwood platinum suite night award — Save your suite night awards for upgrades at the St. Regis Mauritius.

If You Hate Baseball, You’ll Love Spring Training

thepointsoflife

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February 24, 2015

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If You Hate Baseball, You’ll Love Spring Training

I’m not the biggest fan of baseball. While I do hope the Detroit Tigers can finally win the World Series, I never watch until it is playoff time. Tuning in on TV is too boring and going to a game is too expensive.(reference beer prices.)

If you feel the same way about baseball then you may believe that spring training is also worth skipping. To that point, I must inform you that you are mistaken. Spring training is not to be missed, especially in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The weather is right, the city is alive, and the fans are, for the most part, disinterested in the game. Scottsdale Stadium is home to my adopted team, the San Francisco Giants. It seems like every year or every other year they win the World Series.

During spring training, I’m usually there to evaluate the Giants’ talent and assess their chances of winning again. That’s actually not true. During spring training, I’m usually at the game, on the lawn, meeting up with friends and having a few beers. Take note that they are still overpriced.

Regardless of whether they win or lose, who they are playing, what players are starting, spring training games are loads of fun. Years ago amid the steroid scandal games would be even more entertaining as fans and spectators alike would come out to taunt Barry Bonds.

Tickets are not too difficult to come by especially if you go during the week. If you’re lucky enough to get a bracelet as a guest of the Scottsdale Charros,, head up to the pavilion for all you can drink and eat. If not, then enjoy the sun, and maybe try to enjoy baseball.

scottsdale stadium spring training — How’s the weather where you are?

Forget the Oscars, the Intl Brew Awards Are On

Food & Drink

thepointsoflife

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February 23, 2015

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Forget the Oscars, the Intl Brew Awards Are On

Now that the Academy Awards are over, perhaps someone can tell me how Birdman won Best Picture. I still don’t get the ending.

The real award show begins today with the unveiling of categories in the International Guide to Local Brew. You may recall that it was featured during a split second commercial in the Super Bowl.

Beside the top prize that goes for Best Brew, there are many categories worth previewing including:

Best Brew for the ‘Fancy Beer Drinkers’
Best Banquet Brew
Best Hangover Brew
Best Party Brew
El Mejor Cerveza Mexicana
Best SouthEast Asian Brew
Worst I Think I’m Cool Because I’m Drinking This Overpriced Export Brew
Best Brew for Playing the 7-11 Game

And many, many more. Over the coming weeks, depending on the hangover, I’ll post the nominees, open it up for voting, then display the winner followed by the next category.

Crack open a can, sit back and relax because the International Guide to Local Brew is underway.

Last Call for Cubical!

thepointsoflife

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February 22, 2015

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2000 book sales in 2 days. That’s entering NYT Bestseller territory.

You only have a few hours to get your free copy of my book, Everyone’s Advice Is Wrong . . . Including Mine on Kindle. Buy it now, read it tonight, and skip going back to the cubical or cubicle tomorrow.

Incidentally, it is also National Margarita Day, so it may be the last call for cubical but it ain’t for alcohol.

Salud!

ThePointsOfLife

Real Writers Don’t Use Smileys

Professor

thepointsoflife

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February 21, 2015

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Rewind back to grade school when the teacher would inform the class, “If you use the pronoun ‘I’ or ‘you’ in your paper, the result is an automatic failure.” Why? Because a paper written with these personal pronouns weakens the message of the writer.

Today, I assert that smileys should be banned in all forms of communication. It is a sheepish way to make a point. Writers, bloggers, texters, and tweeters use these pubescent emojis because:

They are trying to soften the blow of their passive aggressive insult directed at someone: “Don’t take it so personally buddy, I wasn’t really criticizing you “
Smiley lets a writer say something unpopular/controversial without sounding arrogant and smug: “I can’t say I agree that Emirates has the best hard product compared to Singapore. “
Smileys mean the writer is not confident in what he or she is writing: “I don’t know if I should’ve asked for another amenities kit but I did anyway 😐 “

Overall, smileys demonstrate that a writer lacks conviction in what he or she is saying. Instead, smiley writers pander to the public by trying to use these Super VGA graphic to sound cuddly and folksy.

Because this is an op-ed column, the prohibition of the pronoun ‘I’ is not applicable. With that I would like to make a promise, at the risk of offending emoji lovers worldwide, that I will never succumb to the new norm of tagging every comment with a smiley. Like hashtags, smileys are another unfortunate negative externality from the casual world of social media expression.

I ask others to also respect the art of writing and take the pledge to do the same regardless of the medium for communication. If blogging is regarded as the lowest form of journalism then smileys are the lowest form of expression.

Yours truly,

@TheProfessor #writingisfundamental [no smiley inserted]