For a time, the Venetian was the best hotel on the Strip because of its beautiful architecture, decent priced suites, and ideal location. Tao nightclub was a super-mega club that hosted thousands of people yet still boasted the world’s longest entry line. Today, international house Djs have changed the nightlife scene in Vegas, leaving hip hop lovers out in the cold.
Better find a warm bathtubSmile if you like hip hop
Even with this transformation, one thing that is and will always be a good time regardless of the music is a Las Vegas pool party. Unlike the Hard Rock Las Vegas, the Venetian’s pool party is not hosted at the main pool. Tao Beach, as it is called, is in a separate area affording hotel guests the opportunity to drink and party at the beach or drink and relax at the pool.
After a night out in Vegas, it may be tempting to opt for the latter but the energy of Tao Beach effectively distracts you from that hangover.
The journey will go as follows:
Should I take it easy at the quiet pool?Maybe some beers at $10 a pop will do the trickShots firedChaos ensuesCease FirePeace restored
I’m going to call out all points collectors out there including myself as being frauds of the luxury lifestyle. While we all have taken showers at 30,000 feet aboard Emirates, have been treated like royalty at the Park Hyatt, and felt entitled simply because we have reached platinum status, the gig is up when we return to the daily grind.
The medicine for the aches of reality is to keep churning, keep moving, hoping that the dreaded financial review or a devastating devaluation never catches up to us.
In February of 2014, it finally did.
Stacking discounts as only an adept points churner could, I booked a room at the Four Seasons Las Vegas. The Four Seasons is connected to the Mandalay Bay but besides that, it is in a world all its own. The lobby is too quiet for a Vegas hotel and the rooms too decadent for an after-party.
It is perfect.
Before I get into specifics of this failed transaction, I need to call your attention to a few facts:
The Four Seasons does not have a points program. Reservations are made using another form of currency that is seemingly always in short supply- cash.
The Four Seasons is the best hotel brand in all of the world.
Anyhow, after another fight with another Vegas taxi driver, I was escorted by the friendly bellman to the front desk.
“Mr. Bachuwa, I see you are staying here for two nights and have booked the standard room. I will just need a credit card to cover any incidentals.”
“Certainly,” I said, knowing it was showtime.
By all the accounts I read online, the $20 trick was a common accepted business practice in Vegas so I had no reason to be nervous. Furthermore, I had practiced how I would execute the $20 trick on my flight from Phoenix over and over and once again in the taxi. All I had to do was take a crisp $20 bill and place it neatly behind my ID, on top of my credit card and ask if there were any available upgrades. Low and behold, the agent would reply that there was and then I, for a few greenbacks, would be treated to the most extravagant room in the entire hotel!
“In my hotels, there is always somebody watching,” went through my head as I fumbled for the prescribed ingredients to pull off this epic maneuver.
“You can have this back,” the front desk attendee said handing me back my tarnished twenty, “but I do have good news for you. We do have an upgrade available for a special rate of …”
Almost fainting from the mere mention of money needed for an upgrade, I found myself disoriented, my body overcome with chills. Wiping the sweat from my brow, my voice shaking, I replied, “I’ll let you know what my friend thinks about that, he arrives tonight.”
I was given the key to my room then headed for the elevator with my bag on my back and my tail between my legs. Called out as the peasant that I am, I decided to drown my sorrows in glasses of chilled Veuve Cliquot, an outlet from the uncomfortable reality that I don’t belong here.
Remarkably, moments later, everything felt right again: the bed was softer than heaven, the HD liquid as crystal, and the bathroom marbled for Romans.
So to you, my points friends and to you my points critics, I say to hell with reality, keep churning!
For richer or poorer, Champagne is still damn good!
All right, enough already, I’m sorry for being a lazy pho-ker but I promise that the Pho Sho: Top 10 Pho Worldwide will be completed by the end of time. For the angry readers, don’t act like I didn’t leave you without some entertainment e.g., True Detective: The Case of the Stolen iPhone. For the newcomers, spend this time catching up on posts of pho past.
Today, we aren’t moving ahead with the list because it is too painful to look at great pics of pho while I waste my life away in the epicenter of pho failure, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Previously, I went to a Vietnamese restaurant that doubled as a Korean restaurant pho a disappointing, disgusting bowl. I searched high and wide for another restaurant and managed to find one. After wandering for hours in the Arctic cold of UB, I was more than ready to defrost from what I hope would at least be an edible bowl.
I walked in and much to my delight there was the Huy Fong Foods sisters of chili and amber ready to take a dip.
C’est bon lavie indeed!
Then I looked to the menu. What’s this I see? Spring rolls? Of the shrimp variety? And Pho Tai?
Two orders of spring rolls and an extra large bowl please.
Moments later, the waitress returns to inform me that there are no shrimp spring rolls.
“How about vegetable?” I inquire.
Sure, she says.
Moments later, the waitress returns to inform me that there are no vegetable spring rolls.
“Chicken?” I say uneasily.
Moments later, the waitress returns with my bowl of pho and with the bad news that there are no chicken spring rolls. (A lucky break I guess, what are chicken spring rolls?)
Over the spring roll subject, I am excited by the look of the bowl.
Looks can be deceiving. Those sprouts aren’t your grandfather’s sprouts.
I tasted the broth as is customary before adding in the sexy sisters. Something was off. Instinctively, I reached for the fraternal twins and didn’t hold back.
Looks good now right?
The moment of truth came and went and nothing good happened. At this point I would’ve been content if the soup had no flavor. Instead, it just tasted awful.
Dejected and depressed, I called over to the waitress to bring the check. As I waited for her to return, I couldn’t help but wish that along with the spring rolls the Pho House would’ve been out of Pho Tai that day.
At least then I could still have something to hope phor.
Everyone writes about how to get points; apply for a bunch of credit cards, commute from NY to LA on a daily basis, or hack into your parents’ account, smash and grab style.
For the time being, I’ve chosen to focus on what to do with the points once they have been acquired, though I did offer a primer called 30 Days to Maldives on how to get in the game. As I begin to write more Trip Reports, perhaps I will dive into the specifics of how many points it took versus how much it would’ve cost out of pocket. Today, I would like to focus on the science and evolution of a practice called manufactured spending.
The best feeling in the world comes from churning. i.e., applying for multiple credit cards at once to get the sign up bonus.
Oh what a feelin, when im churnin on the ceilingHow many AAdvantage cards do you have? Ive had six! 2 Exec, one MC, one Visa, one Amex, one business Visa.
Then the anxiety sets in when you realize you have to meet the spending requirements for all the cards within 3 months. Recall 30 Days to Maldives: Step 1, no credit card debt is allowed, so buying that Maserati on credit to meet the mins is out of the question.
So how do you meet the minimum spend if you are smart enough to not fall into credit card debt? Manufactured spend, manufactured spend, manufactured spend.
Manufactured spending is the art of spending without spending.
Method #1: The U.S. Mint: Years ago, before I even entered the points game, churners used to buy coins from the U.S. Mint on their credit cards, deposit those coins into their bank account, then pay off the credit card with those funds.
That practice is no longer an option.
Method #2: Office Depot and Vanilla Reload: Next up was everyone’s favorite, the Vanilla Reload card. Vanilla Reloads have a fascinating history. Initially, they were sold in many retail stores including office supply stores like Office Depot. The savvy points person who had a Chase Ink business which gave 5X Ultimate Reward points for office purchase could buy V-Loads at increments of $500 each for a fee of $3.95. Because these purchased showed up as ‘office supply’ transactions, the savvy points guy would yield thousands upon thousands of points for doing next to nothing.
That practice is no longer an option.
Remember these babies? Oh, the good old days
Method #3: CVS and Vanilla Reload: With the demise of V-Load purchases at Office Depot, the points people turned their attention to CVS which allowed the purchase of these cards on any credit card. Although they didn’t yield the 5X points from before, they did provide an easy way to meet the minimum spend on all those credit cards pictured above. The process was straightforward: Go into a CVS, pick up 2 V-Load cards for $500 each, a Twix bar, and a Coke Zero. Do this a few times a month and bam! minimum spend complete.
Of course, buying V-Load cards would’ve been useless if there wasn’t a way to liquidate the cards with no fees. Enter Bluebird from American Express. Bluebird is a free checking account that allows subscribers the benefits of having a checking account without dealing with all the fees charged by big banks. In the old days, Bluebird users would load their accounts online with the V-Load cards they purchased for next to nothing. From there, Bluebird users could pay their student loan bills, mortgages, or simply withdraw the cash from an ATM.
CVS, like Office Depot, eventually realized they were losing money on these transactions. So this, like the U.S. Mint is no longer an option.
Method #4: Amazon Payments: The noose around manufactured spending began to tighten with the cash only purchase restriction of V-Loads. But, manufacturers still could depend on their old faithful compadre Amazon Payment to rack up spending each month. Amazon Payments allowed users to send their friend $1000 a month with no fees via credit card. Then the friend would turn around and send the money right back.
Last month, everyone using this service received this notification:
As you can see, Amazon Payments are no longer an option.
The smash and grab from your parents’ cache of points account is looking more appealing right? Fear not points churners, young and old, there are still a couple of ways left, for now.
As an aside, I’m still relatively new to the points game, having learned of the points community back in 2011. Anyhow, when I first started I used to read about these points secrets and wish, post gaining the valuable info, that bloggers would stop yapping about the tricks. The indiscreet dissemination of this information has undoubtedly killed deals and closed points loopholes. However, my selfishness notwithstanding, I will say that all good things come to an end forcing us to adapt or die a pointless death.
And now back to the manufacturing:
Method 5: The Rubber Ducky Debit Cards.
These cute little buggers will do all the heavy lifting for your manufactured spends.
Do you like going to Walmart? Don’t answer that question. But, if you don’t then you better start liking it if you want to stay in the manufacturing industry. Here’s how it works (and yes this option still works).
Register at Topcashback.com or another portal site that gives you cash rebates for using their referral links to make purchases.
Search ‘Giftcardmall’ and follow the link to that site.
From there,search ‘visa giftcards’ leading to a results page of the cute ducky pictured above.
Purchase the cards in increments of $500 on the credit card needing the spending.
Wait forever for the cards and activation codes (they are delivered separately for security) to arrive.
Activate the cards.
Take the cards to Walmart along with your Bluebird.
Wait in line forever unless there is a Bluebird ATM. (If there is a Bluebird ATM, follow the prompts for reloading the card.)
Tell the friendly cashier to load $500 onto your Bluebird Card.
Hand her the Bluebird card, swipe your Gift Card, and enter the pin when prompted which is the last 4 digits of your cute ducky card.
Walk out of the store.
*There is a daily limit of $1999 for loading your Bluebird with ducks.
Still hate Walmart? Maybe you do or maybe you will after dealing with the giftcard approach, no matter how cute the duck.
Too bad Amazon Payments are dead.
This is no longer an option. TopCashBack doesn’t give cashback for Visa gift cards and giftcards.com doesn’t sell gift cards in $500 increments.
Method 6: American Express Swerve
The final frontier for manufacturing, or more likely just the next frontier is the Swerve card. I have yet to try this method but bloggers every second of the day are posting the same post about how Swerve is the greatest thing since….Amazon Payments.
Here’s how to get in on the construction work:
Cancel your Bluebird as you cannot have both Bluebird and Swerve.
Apply for the Swerve.
Use your Swerve card to load $200 a day from your credit card (up to $1000-$1500 a month depending on the Swerve card you sign up for) in the same fashion as Amazon Payments.
Buy rubber ducky as you did before and go to Walmart as you did before.
Wallah, you’ve kept your manufacturing job alive till we are all back on the street waiting for some new techniques.
REDBird let you swipe your credit card directly with no fees. Imagine walking into a Target, handing the cashier your credit card, and walking out with $2500 of MS. Like its predecessors, it was too good to last and has now taken its spot in the defunct world of outdated manufacturing strategies.
RIP little birdies.
Method 8: GiftCards.com
For awhile Giftcards.com was the go to spot. They had free shipping and a rebate that would offset the cost of the gift card. Guess what happened? The free shipping is gone and the price per card has gone up.
Sad to say giftcards.com is no longer an option either!
The Mirage is the best. It is centrally located, has an excellent pool, a decent nightclub, and an affordable room. I’ve stayed there multiple times and have yet to come away disappointed. That and the fact that it was home to one of my favorite Vegas movies, Vegas Vacation validate the high seeding.
I’ve been there during the NBA Playoffs and found the sports book to be both spacious and accommodating. I’ve been there on my birthday and found the pool to be both lively and relaxing. I’ve been there during NBA All Star Weekend and found the club to be both spacious and lively. There’s nothing bad I can write about the Mirage except for the fact that I am not writing this review from the Mirage.
In summary, the Mirage demonstrates it is possible to have all the great things that Vegas provides without the obscene costs or risk of isolation.
This is THE MirageThis is the poolThis is the pool deckThis is the club
Before moving to Mongolia, I signed up for Global Entry which comes with TSA PreCheck meaning you don’t have to take off your shoes and belt, remove your laptop, and if you’re one of those people who still separates his liquids, you don’t have to do that either. I paid $100 for the application and scheduled the interview which included straightforward questions like the flattering one, “Why have you been to so many countries?
Global Entry allows you to skip the Customs line that continues to grow longer and slower and proceed to the automated kiosk where you swipe your passport, declare any goods, then be on your way. Gone are the days of anxiety and fumbling for answers when the immigration asks you seemingly innocent questions like “What countries did you visit?” that nevertheless illicit a shaky response, “uhhh, Mexico?”
Registering for Global Entry as I was exiting the country indefinitely wasn’t the most well thought out plan but the benefit does remain valid for five years. Nevertheless, I recommend that every traveler sign up because using it along with PreCheck a few times more than pays for the nominal application fee. Be warned, if you have two misdemeanors on your resume, you won’t be approved. I also must note that Global Entry still won’t save you the headache of bringing along your Jambox.
Two years ago my friend, Brent Dutcher sent me a self-help book that he thought would be of interest to me. To which I replied, “That is stupid. I can write you a better one.” And that’s exactly what I did.
The result is a satirical self-help/memoir entitled Everyone’s Advice Is Wrong . . . Including Minewritten to inspire Mr. Dutcher to get out of the cubicle and start living life on his own terms. Since the book was published I have received great reviews and pretty good ones. Still, many of my friends and even family have, for one reason or another, refused to purchase a copy.
Today, I received a review from a friend of mine that I was a little worried to read. He’s a straight shooter, a no nonsense type of guy that doesn’t hesitate to tell me exactly how things are, despite my thinking to the contrary. Bracing myself for the worst, I started reading his critique.
I was delighted to read, even with a couple of facetious shots at my expense, how much he enjoyed the book.
Please find his review below:
5 years ago, in a back corner of a counterfeit mall, is where I first met one of the most distinguishable acquaintances i have — negotiating for a pair of tennis shoes by increasing his own price and confusing the Shanghainese sneaker slinger to the point of annoyance and getting kicked out of the store.
After introducing myself to the brazen american, we quickly discovered that we were both Wolverines, who graduated in 2004. Not only that — but he happened to be on a study abroad while getting his MBA at Thunderbird School of Global Management. What were the odds that I’d meet someone in a random Shanghai bazaar, who shared both my home state, undergraduate and graduate universities? Well, the bro-mance would continue in infamy. Though my new buddy had questionable morals, character, and wasn’t really someone I ever expected to “Respect” in any way — he recently had his book “Everyone’s advice is wrong… including mine” published.
So, I gave it a read; you know — because he’s my buddy. Not being much of a reader, I didn’t even really expect to get all the way through it. So, you can imagine my surprise when I read the first 8 chapters in one sitting. His substantially self-depricating semi-autobiography about evading the corporate grind, and appreciating what life has to offer is genuinely entertaining. I would strongly encourage everyone to get a copy of the book and use it to get a few laughs… and maybe even to help affirm aspirations of taking a new path in life. For Michiganders, wolverines, and anyone stuck in a Lumbergh-style work-environment… the book is straight up killer.
Well done Alex; you’re still strange as hell, and perhaps the most interesting man in the world, in making… and I rather enjoyed the fruits of your exploits.
So please go out [to Amazon], purchase a copy and if you do not like it, please write a terrible review of it. For doing so, I will refund you the whopping $5 I make per copy. After all, my goal in writing isn’t to make money, it’s to get my message out: reject the teachings of cubicle-ism, be faithful to yourself.
Thus the title Everyone’s Advice Is Wrong . . Including Mine. (emphasis added)
Yours truly,
The Strange Dude
I’ve literally eaten my own words. (see cover of my book if you’re confused)
Don’t worry, we are entering the final stretch of the tourney with the best of the best vying for that number one spot in the Elite 8.
This week the bracket shifted towards partying at the Hard Rock for Rehab and being entranced at the Artisan Hotel Boutique. We went down memory lane at the Riviera (though I do not recommend reminiscing about Vegas trips too much), further explored the Mandalay Bay Resort, leaving us with the following:
You’ve lasted this long in Vegas, what’s a few more days?
There are Hard Rock Cafes throughout the world like the Hard Rock Hotel in Bali, Indonesia, but there is only one Hard Rock Las Vegas.
The Vegas Hard Rock revolutionized the party scene not only in Vegas but throughout the world with the creation of Rehab, the ultimate morning after pool party. After a rough Saturday, when your body is begging for you to slow down before it shuts down, there is only one noble course of action: drink more.
Guests not staying at the Hard Rock Hotel have to arrive as early in the morning to queue in line for hours. Guests of the Hard Rock Hotel are given preferential treatment for admittance and the added advantage of having a home base to pre-pre-party, take a two minute power nap, and rest up for the after party at Body English before the after-after party.
The Rehab concept has been copied by hotels throughout the Strip but make no mistake, the original is still going strong at the Hard Rock.
A peaceful Sunday afternoon with the family…An innocent cocktail…Then all hell breaks looseThe end result?…see video below
If you use the Priceline Trick it is very possible that you can get a discounted room at a great hotel in Vegas including the Mandalay Bay. While hotels claim that they don’t put Priceline guests in the linen closet, the chances of getting a nice upgrade ($20 trick notwithstanding) is pretty remote.
The right way to stay in Vegas is to use your Amex Platinum to book a room that is part of their Fine Hotels & Resorts collection of which Mandalay Bay is a participating member. Here are the perks in writing:
Now let me show you what this perk looks like translated into a picture:
Michigan paraphernalia not included
Instead of a basic room at Mandalay, Amex provides an upgraded suite with a full size dining table room, more televisions than anyone will ever need, and a deluxe shower.
What’s nice about staying at the Mandalay, THEhotel (Delano), or the Four Seasons is access to the many amenities of the complex:
Every resort should have a lazy riverAnd a wave pool
Now imagine all of this coupled with the service of the Four Seasons:
