Reader, new friend, and fellow Portland Mustachian, Emma, asked me for some advice on getting started travel hacking. Her goal is a trip to Cape Town South Africa next spring with her significant other. I’ve never planned a trip to the continent of Africa, but I thought it would be useful to deconstruct the thinking […]
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Jumping off a Cliff
I feel a little bit like a fundamentalist preacher who woke up one morning and realized he did not believe in God. Or not so much that he didn’t believe in god, more that he found he also believed in a larger, cooler, non Judeo-Christian god. Up until this point I’ve done a pretty decent […]
Amazonia Lost
And now for the cherry on top As if the dwindling of Moneypaks, and the shutdown of Loyal3 weren’t enough, we find out that the lowest of low hanging fruits has started to rot on the vine. Amazon payments checked most of the boxes for an ideal manufactured spending vehicle. It was easy, lucrative, and […]
Gristly Bits and Broken Pieces
The manufactured spending game is cyclical. For every triumphant moment there is a let down and vice versa. I’ve been riding high of late from all of the wonderful manufactured spending opportunities that opened up all at once. PayPal, green dot,ISIS Serve, loyal3. A couple months ago it was all a Walmart-less embarrassment of riches. But […]
Shrinkage
When I was a kid and I couldn’t fall sleep right away, I would imagine wonderful spaces designed to my specs. The one that I remember best was a secret door under our stairwell. It opened up into a sprawling subterranean playground accessible only by a firehouse ladder. There was a batting cage. There was […]
Breakfast in Taipei
My minivacation before my vacation was a unique opportunity offered to me by my hobby, the miles game. Without the miles game I never would’ve flown business-class to multiple cities in order to work in a bit of free traveling on my way to Japan. Without understanding the rules of routing, I would not have […]
Turning Japanese
My love affair with Japan probably started before birth. I say this because my parents are Japanophiles. So much so that growing up my father actually studied Japanese tea ceremony. (I was more than a little embarrassed once or twice as a boy when my friends would sleep over and catch glimpses of my dad […]
The Business End
Blogging from an iPhone just wasn’t for me. (AKA apologies for not posting very much these last two weeks in Japan, dear Reader.) But now I’m back, with much to report. So let’s proceed. When I last posted, I had just finished dinner at the inimitable Chen’s Shanghai in Vancouver BC. After that meal, I […]
Dinner in Vancouver
The minivacation is now over. I’ve transitioned into full on vacation mode. But the early results are in and the mini vacation was a great success. And since my mini vacation was purchased solely on points and a tiny bit of cash it seems worth revisiting. Although I’m no big fan of the blogging genre […]
Eastward Ho
I sit on the precipice of a most unmustachian journey. Many months ago when I planned this trip I included a mini vacation before the vacation. I did it because I had a surplus of miles and a blank slate to work with. I did it because I was curious. I did it because I’m […]
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