Rapid Travel Chai

I am not traveling while the Mrs is. She wanted me to meet her flight at JFK. “What’s that honey? The connection is breaking up. I can’t hear you. What’s that?  Have a good flight. Sorry, can’t hear you.”

Going to a NYC airport without a flight to catch is an ‘ask’ too far. I fondly remember the one and only time she met me at an airport, when we were dating students and I arrived back at Shanghai Hongqiao after a few months studying in Hong Kong. Black sunglasses, light blue jacket, black pants, black boots. Melts my heart enough to schlep out to just about any airport other than JFK.

I did the standard miles and points maintenance this week, booked a few awards for myself and family, and was surprised (so too the clerk) to see Vanilla Reloads at a CVS on my commute. The was a big flurry about an improved offer for the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard®, not enough to disrupt a regular churn cycle. Nice to see Barclays getting more active, see my Barclays credit cards 101 if you are starting to dabble.

The big news and inevitable debate comes from Million Mile Secrets’ Breaking News: You Can Now Use Gift Cards For Cash Back, Loading Bluebird, and Buying Money Orders! At first blush it does not appear to have a reasonably practical application for me in NYC but better minds are no doubt already hard at work. I will be happy to meet many of them at the Point Me to the Plane Meet-Up this Thu April 11 at the Westin New York Grand Central. If you are in NYC, come join the fun. The only cost is what you consume, the benefits in camaraderie and info should far exceed even the most robust intake.