Rapid Travel Chai

Earlier this week I shared my pick for Best New Manufactured Spend Blog of 2017. One wit noted that we are well into 2018 and that anyway, my recommendation, Million Mile Guy is ‘nothing new’ to him.

Indeed it is 2018, these posts were intended to be at the start of the year. Instead, I spent the first weeks of the year on the RMS St Helena traveling the South Atlantic.

As for ‘nothing new,’ I see Million Mile Guy as covering technical MS scaling that he actually does in practice like few blogs do. If I were to pick a runner-up new MS blog for the year I wouldn’t be able to name a candidate since so few blogs cover MS these days.

New Miles and Points Blogs

Miles and points blogs continue to surface. I am attracted to new, detailed angles rather than following the herd in ‘deal’ reposting.

Points Adventure

Points Adventure on the Saverocity network is written by a veteran points traveler familiar to many from events such as the Ann Arbor Art Fair DO. I am glad he has started blogging.

He is a traveler at heart, encapsulated in The Great Paradox of My Travel Aspirations:

I have two fundamental travel aspirations:

1. See the world.
2. Get good value out of miles & points.

The 2 goals were in unison in my early days of the hobby.  Seeing the world meant flying premium cabin to a major destination, staying in a high-value points hotel, and sightseeing in the vicinity.  I did this in Hong Kong, Sydney, Bangkok, Paris, Banff – to name a few.  I enjoyed all these places, but after a while, it started to feel repetitive.  The luxurious but insulated hotel.  The globalized big city.  The obligatory smile from service employees.  The hordes of tourists.  Once in a while a place would still sweep me off my feet, but overall, I began to question: is this all there is to world travel?

Absolutely read $10 for a Flat Bed in Chicago? I’ll Take It.

Highlight posts to get you rolling:

• I Feel Sorry For People Earning Hotel Points Primarily Through Modest, Unbonused Stays.
• Churning in the Age of Chase Shutdowns and Life After 5/24.
• Use Your Old Citi Cards, Avoid Involuntary Closure (Resets Bonus Eligibility). I made this mistake with a Dividend card two years ago and lost it. I was closed a year to date from my prior activity.
• Beware of Portal Cancellation Fees on Altitude Reserve Bookings.
• Best Western: Crappy Website, Good Customer Service.

Honorable Mention to Encourage Most Post: Straight to the Points

You’ll know Spencer Howard’s smile from events such as Chicago Seminars. He has launched Straight to the Points in addition to writing he does on other sites.

We want more of The Complete Guide to RoomiPay: Pay Rent And Earn Tons Of Points and Earn Status Or Max Miles From Your Flight: The ANA Business Class Deal.

Happy Returns

The Lazy Traveler’s Handbook is back. See My Annual State of the Hobby Address and Happy 2018!

Milenomics, too, with a new contributor joining the now family man lead author. See Allow Myself to Introduce…Myself? and Monetizing Sub-Par CC Offers (The Kind You Usually Throw Away).

Readers, let me know what else is new and deserves a wider audience.