My first day at Jungle Books in the Calais Jungle went smoothly and I met some nice people…until the very end. On my way to a classroom, I passed a young man around 20 years old from Kabul, who muttered something unintelligible, yet clearly hostile, under his breath. His friend urged him to be quiet while I ignored … Read more
Say that three times fast. Yesterday, Hyatt introduced a new rewards program called World of Hyatt, which will go into effect on March 1, 2017. The changes are negative for most people, especially those who earn elite status via mattress running or credit card spending. In addition to eliminating the ability to earn elite credit … Read more
By day two of my volunteering stint at Help Refugees, I got into a good rhythm. I woke up at 8:00 AM every morning, had a healthy breakfast at the hotel, then took the bus to the warehouse. My Observations of the Calais Jungle Calais Diaries: Day 1 at the Help Refugees Warehouse Lost in … Read more
I’ve been battling a cold for the past week and going to Walmart to liquidate gift cards has been really tough. I’ve been agonizing over my drop in manufactured spending until some good news came along. At least 20 of my family members in Australia are flying to India for a wedding. The best part? They … Read more
On my first day at the Help Refugees warehouse, I heard a great deal of chatter about Jungle Books. “Are you going to Jungle Books later?” practically every person I spoke to asked. Jungle Books served several noteworthy functions in the Calais Jungle. They operated a school for adults, where English and French were taught; an elementary … Read more
Manufactured spending can be a lot of work. It certainly requires a great deal of organization and is not for everyone. I have a very simple spreadsheet for making sure I don’t lose any cards or forget to pay off credit cards, but what really helps me in the liquidation process are mobile apps. There … Read more
Calais is a small town in Northern France that lies along the English Channel, an hour from London via Eurostar. The town houses the Calais Jungle refugee camp, home to over 9,000 refugees mostly from Afghanistan, Sudan, Syria, and Eritrea. Only a handful of organizations have been at the forefront of providing housing and aid to over 9,000 refugees. … Read more
The Chase Hyatt Visa has been around for a long time. Historically, the sign-up bonus has been two free nights after $2,000 spent in three months. They’ve periodically targeted people for sign-up bonuses in the form of points rather than free nights. This can sometimes be a good thing, though not the case with the latest … Read more
A few lucky folks have been getting targeted for a 100,000 point sign-up bonus from the IHG Rewards Club. The spending requirement is $1,000 higher than the normal 60,000 point offer and the 2 free night bonus, but that’s a drop in the bucket for most of us. I personally like these point offers versus … Read more
No, I’m not referring to the bizarre incident where a customer tried to return this plastic corn after her grandson cooked it, thinking it was real. A few weeks ago I wrote about my run-in with the Asset Protection team at Walmart. One of the Asset Protection Associates had seen me buying money orders at another Walmart and … Read more