Kinglobjaw's Blog

Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

People will never forget how Live Search Cashback offered as much as 35% cashback on Buy-It-Now purchases made on eBay. Well, it’s BACK!!! Right now it’s a 8% cashback which is still really high, compared to Ebates which only offers 3%(even though they offer it daily and year-roud), but I’m going to take a wild guess that the cashback may go up again. Sure makes selling Best Buy gift cards much more rewarding!

For those who are new to the game, I’ll make it very simple.

0. Bookmark this blog so you keep coming back, hehe =]

1. Go to Live.com and search for the keyword “wii” or other product related keywords like “40d” or “psp”

2. Look for the banner that says “You may be eligible for X% off with PayPal if eligible

3. Link takes you to the eBay homepage where you can buy almost anything you want, but make sure you dont’ bid- use Buy It Now

4. Pay with PayPal, and you will get a message about claiming the cashback. After a while, they send the cash directly to your PayPal account. Beautiful!

Have a nice shopping experience clicK life,

-Mark

Just received my quarterly paper statement from Marriott Rewards. Yes, some companies still send those!

Page 2 hightlights Ritz Carlton savings if you are wanting to stay using Marriott Rewards points. More info can be found here: http://www.marriott.com/rewards/ritzCarltonPointSavers.mi (or if that link doesn’t work try http://www.marriottrewards.com/pointsavers)

Tier 2 Savings

• 1 night award- 50,000 pts (normally 70,000)
• 2 night award- 80,000 pts (normally 110,000)
• 3 night award- 110,000 pts (normally 150,000)
• 5 night award- 150,000 pts (normally 200,000)
• 7 night award- 190,000 pts (normally 250,000)

Tier 1 Savings

• 1 night award- 35,000 pts (normally 45,000)
• 2 night award- 60,000 pts (normally 75,000)
• 3 night award- 80,000 pts (normally 100,000)
• 5 night award- 120,000 pts (normally 150,000)
• 7 night award- 140,000 pts (normally 175,000)

I hear the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman (Tier 2) is really nice, and for a 7 nights stay it’s a savings of 60,000 Marriott Rewards points. Excellent deal for an excellent property.

Now, if only Ritz-Carlton Molasses Reef would open up already!

Have a nice clicK life,

-Mark

Because I fly only with US Airways, does it mean I only carry a Dividend Miles account? Of course not, and folks should learn to do the same.

You have to be on the lookout for various partner promos from the other airlines. Sometimes they’ll let you earn miles so easily and quickly and you’d be crazy not to. And I’m not talking about flying here! Take a look at a section of an email from Northwest that I got this morning.

Dear Mark,

Never shopped WorldPerks Mall before? Now’s a perfect time to try!
Savvy WorldPerks members know they can earn miles every day by shopping WorldPerks Mall. Now, you’re in the know! Plus, through March 31, 2009, make a purchase on WorldPerks Mall from Ann Taylor®, Lands’End®, homedepot.com, or more than 200 other favorite online stores, and you’ll earn 1,000 Bonus Miles in addition to the miles you always earn. Shopping the Mall is easy, fun and habit-forming. You’ll see.

Register today for this one-time offer.
 

1,000 miles for one (any) purchase. That’s great! The cheapest way to nail this is to buy an iTune for 0.99 cents. That will earn you 2 miles + 1,000 bonus miles. Full details on the promotion can be found here.

Some may ask if keeping a 1,000 miles is good for anything if you’re not going to fly with that airline?

Well, for starters, that 1,000  miles would normally cost you $50 + tax if bought directly from that airline. Also, you can be sure there will be other promos in the future to get you to try new products or the airline credit card will carry a no free promotion where you can score a huge 20,000+ mile welcome bonus. If you earn E-Rewards you can usually transfer to your frequent flyer account to get more miles. Last but not least, you can try redeeming those miles for a magazine delivered to your home free of charge. Subscriptions for certain magazines start from only 600 miles in cost.

I’ve been doing this with a couple of frequent flyer programs just to score enough miles that I will keep as emergency miles. I already have 50,000 miles with United and will have about 35,000 miles with the merged Delta frequent flyer program. I”m also going for American Airlines since I already have about 8,000 miles in my AAdvantage account. I’m also thinking of signing up for the BMI program since they have low redemptions levels for UK and Channel flights. All these are not from flying, but from partner promotions and no annual fee credit card offers from the airlines.

Have a nice clicK life,

-Mark

Just a few hours ago, I completed my voting in the Freddie Awards. I have to say, it was a little different this year.

US still got the all the highest marks for all the airline related categories, but I voted differently when it came to the hotels.
Each year I would recognize Marriott with all my votes, but I found 2008 to be poor for Marriott. I’ve had some upsetting stays, dismal customer service and ridiculous reductions in the Marriott Rewards program. I’m also upset with the progress of new properties I was really looking forward to staying at.

This year, I’ve found more value with the Hilton HHonors program, and more than anything else, I’ve found Priority Club very rewarding with their stackable bonus promotions and excellent credit card. In the last 6 months I’ve earned more than 80,000 Priority Club points without spending a single penny for hotel rooms. I will say it again, the Priority Club Visa card is amazing and has a very low annual fee ($25). And while Priority Club outsources all of their customer service (even for the Platinum line), I still find the agents genuinely helpful and friendly.

One other neat thing. Go on USAirways.com and on the top left of the page use their Google based search engine and search for the keyword “freddie”. You’ll find an old page which strangely enough still bears the America West logo. Interesting read.

Don’t forget to vote in the Freddie Awards. Voting closes February 28, 2009.

Have a nice clicK life,

-Mark

A few weeks ago, I posted about US Airways pulling the plug on the PIT-EWR route.

Turns out, that same day (March 7, 2009) US is starting a single PHL-EWR flight. It will be operated by US Airways Express- Piedmont Airlines. After that, starting on March 8, 2009 there will be 4 flights in each direction.

Schedule is as follows:

US4534 PHL (9:30AM) - EWR (10:29AM)
US4536 PHL (1:30PM) - EWR (2:29PM)
US4552 PHL (4:10PM) - EWR (5:15PM)
US4556 PHL (8:50PM) - EWR (10:00PM)

US4505 EWR (6:45AM) - PHL (8:00AM)
US4525 EWR (11:20AM)- PHL (12:35PM)
US4527 EWR (2:59PM) - PHL (4:19PM)
US4539 EWR (5:45PM) - PHL (7:05PM

Have a nice clicK life,

-Mark

Alrighty. This is sort of a big deal for me. It’s also I reason why I’ve been quiet for the last few days. I just applied for The Best Job In The World which makes me excited yet nervous at the same time. My application just got processed and published. Step 1 done, few more steps to go.

The Best Job In The World is a very clever marketing gimmick Hamilton Island is using to promote tourism into the region. They are offering a 6 month job for one talented person. Could it possibly be Kinglobjaw?

Anyway, sifting through all the videos you’ll see a lot of people get undressed, everyone talking about doing anything to get this job, and the lamest of all was the “it is currently x temp here so bring me to Hamilton Island”. There were also a lot of good ones, oddly enough most from Canada.

Given my love for travel, I decided to apply, but with an aviation twist. I stand to be original. Music isn’t too bad either, eh?

Anyway, here is my app: http://www.islandreefjob.com/#/applicants/watch/7nBRJ9zVgMs

Here’s my application video,

Be sure to tell your friends about this- spread the word about Kinglobjaw’s quest. Rate my video, drop me a line, or comment this post. Thanks.

Have a nice clicK life,

-Mark

P.S. If I end up being selected, this blog will surely turn in a different direction for 6 months. Question is, will I survive without setting foot on a plane for such a long time? =)

An account of the events and his life post the accident. Every single day I read more about this guy, I find him more and more amazing. I would be honored to fly with any member of this crew. Who knows, maybe one day I will.

Here’s the article.

Have a nice clicK life,

-Mark

I decided it’s time to sign up for Twitter and broadcast website and blog content via Twitter updates.

I think anyone can sign up for the updates, so here’s the direct link: http://twitter.com/kinglobjaw

At this point, it’s better if you use a PC instead of a mobile to access my site, gallery or the blog. My website is not yet mobile capable. One day!

Have a nice clicK life,

-Mark

I admit to belonging to more than one frequent flyer program. I also admit to earning miles in more than one frequent flyer program. Today, I will point out something every USA based frequent flyer member should consider doing. Signing up for United Mileage Plus with only one thing in mind.

United is the only airline to partner with a grocery store. Thus members can earn miles for shopping for what they need the most in their lives.

United Mileage Plus partners with the Safeway family which includes the following grocery chain stores:

• Safeway
• Dominick’s (as a Chicago native this is the one I most frequent)
• VONS
• Genuardi’s
• Pavilions

You earn 125 United Mileage Plus miles for every $250 spent before tax at any of the above stores (some products like milk & alcohol don’t count towards the $250 spent.) All you need is a store club card (which works at all the store brands), and make sure you register.

Now this is the important part and a reason why I’m posting this. MEMBERS WHO ARE ALREADY REGISTERED NEED TO REVIEW THIS.

United is requiring us to re-enroll with the program before February 28, 2009 so we can continue earning our miles. It takes just a few seconds and can be done here. United isn’t reminding anyone via email, but at least you can count on this blog. =)

Have a nice clicK life,

-Mark

Whoever says that airline customer service is dismal, has not been paying attention to how low Best Buy can go.

Just because Circuit City went out of business, it does not give Best Buy the right to mess with their loyal customers.

 What’s the big deal, you ask? Back in October 2008 I purchased a Canon 50D Digital SLR camera. I did so in Best Buy and I scanned one of these triple points coupons. I even saved a copy, because I knew this sort of thing would happen. The points never posted. Simple enough to fix, right? WRONG!

Don't get excited, readers. It expired months ago!

You’re required to wait about 30 days from the purchase date, so I did. The base points posted, so I knew there was a problem with the promotional 3X points. I called the Premier Silver number and they created a case for me. So far so good. Weeks later I get a call from a guy who claims I purchased this online and used a gift card. Ha! I then decided to email back (since their email support team also handles cases) to which I got reply asking me for details from my receipt. I provided the information. I then got a reply saying they can mail me a copy of my receipt. Huh? I reply again saying I’m missing points not a receipt. They ask me for details from my receipt again. It’s back and forth like that a for a few days. Sometime they tell me I don’t get triple points with this purchase and sometimes they say I got all my points. Very convenient since I can only look back ninety days which has passed and they think they can feed me this junk. It’s all fun and games until today.  Just a few minutes ago I got this wonderful reply which came unsigned. I don’t even who wrote this. Maybe the CEO of Best Buy? Brand Anderson, are you mixing up Valetine’s Day with April fools? LOL!

Hello Mark

How are you this evening? Mark, I have done a little research on this request you have made and I must say I am very surprised at the amount of points in your bank! I see the most I have ever seen, 75,000  WOW! I am afraid due to this amount of point accumulation, you have reached the absolute maximum that Best Buy can offer! If you would like to begin redeeming these points for certificates, we can then begin to add more points to your account. As it is, this is as high as we can permit any accumulation. I am terribly sorry about this Mark.

I would like to offer you the steps in redeeming these points for certificates. It will take 250 points to receive a $5.00 certificate.

1. www.myrewardzone.com
2. using your member id and password, log on
3. choose My Account (at the top of the screen)
4. Click on Issue Certificates.
5. Type in the amount of points to convert to certificates or amount of the certificate
6. Print by clicking on My Certificates.

 

Are you kidding me? There is no such thing as a points cap. Some of their rewards cost 300,000 points. It’s not in the rules and not a single Best Buy employeed confirmed this. And for the record, I only have about 20,000 points since I spent some last year. This has to be the mother of all foolish customer service responses! I’m thinking, what on earth has just happened here? I love how the person says “WOW”. I have to admit, that’s very classy! When I emailed Best Buy’s customer service, I didn’t know I was looking for an IM buddy. I’m also hurt by the fact that I wasn’t wished Happy Valentine’s Day. Best Buy doesn’t love me. Well, I guess they never loved me to begin with…

Have a nice clicK life,

-Mark