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CategoryMy paid family leave journey: application, timing, hiccups, and approval
Become a Patron!This is the second entry in what will be an occasional series about my navigation of the District of Columbia’s universal paid family and medical leave program. You
Episode 59: Citi Transfer Partner Changes, New Routes, and a $500 Tip of the Week
We discuss the addition of Wyndham/Vacasa as a Citi ThankYou Point transfer partner, ZIPAIR from LAX to Tokyo, Frontier leaving Newark, and a $500…
How I would (and might) maximize the current Series I Savings Bond deal
There’s an interesting deal available right now for folks who have extra cash lying around they are sure they won’t need for a least one year, and ideally won’t need
My paid family leave journey: Introduction
This is the first entry in what will be an occasional series describing my (hopefully successful) attempt to navigate making a claim through Washington, DC’s paid family and me..
Advantages to getting more involved in the travel hacking community
A few weeks back I wrote about some reasons why most people don’t have much interest in the travel hacking game, and why they’re mostly right: if you don’t have
The strangest thing about losing your appetite
As long-time fans of the Free-quent Flyer extended universe know, I got pretty sick last year and was diagnosed with “community-acquired pneumonia,” treated with some kind of bre..
Episode 58: Loyalty Program Changes at Marriott, Hyatt, American Airlines and More
Three major loyalty programs updated their schemes this week. We discuss this and more in this week’s No Annual Fee podcast… Marriott Bonvoy Changes…
The history and present of the au pair scam
On this week’s episode of The Manifesto I had a long conversation with a reader who has a decade or so of experience legally bringing in au pairs from abroad
Labor scarcity and the Scandinavian model
Become a Patron!Like anyone with a pulse, I’ve been following with interest the nationwide panic over so-called “labor shortages,” supposedly popping up everywhere from grocery s..
Can you win playing by the rules?
Last month I spent a lovely Saturday afternoon in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport conference center for the long, long, long-delayed Milenomics Second Planned (M..
Inflation is a transfer from creditors to debtors (that means you)
Become a Patron!I have lately seen some very muddled thinking about supply chains and inflation, and I would like to remind confused readers of some very basic economics that will
How I did on the pandemic relief laws
Become a Patron!This is a post I’ve wanted to write for a long time, but haven’t been able to since the story wasn’t quite complete. Now that my final unemployment
Episode 7: Checking In w/Robin from Luxe Recess on New England Resorts, Blackberry Farm, Luxury Disney and Orlando
Robert chats with Robin Hutson from Luxe Recess about trends she’s seeing in the luxury travel market. They compare notes on recent travels with…
Manifesto Episode 28: Bilt Rewards with Richard Kerr
Today’s Podcast comes to you from Gideon The Freequent Flyer who has a companion piece to this podcast on his site. Hello and welcome…
The real deal behind the Bilt Rewards reboot
Like most folks who take travel hacking seriously, I was a bit bemused by the wave of coverage Bilt Rewards
Episode 5: September 2021 Disney World Trip Report w/Joe Cheung
Today we’re releasing an episode of “Checking In with Robert Dwyer” that’s normally reserved for subscribers of the Milenomics Podcast Network. Robert chats with…
What travel partner should you credit car rentals to?
I detest driving, so we haven’t owned a car in years, and I try my best to design vacations that don’t require a private vehicle. In recent years, that started
First time homebuyer savings accounts, part 3 (Alabama, Mississippi, Montana)
Become a Patron!This is my third and final post about first-time homebuyer savings accounts, a tax dodge that seems to have swept the nation a few years ago, with several
Episode 57: Heightened Offers from Bank of America
Four great credit card welcome bonuses to consider from Bank of America. Let’s discuss them, how we’d prioritize them, and also navigating the complicated…
First-time homebuyer savings accounts, part 2 (Virginia, Colorado, Minnesota, Iowa, Idaho)
Become a Patron!I recently wrote in detail about the first-time homebuyer savings account tax deduction offered by the state of Oregon, and promised a followup with an assessment..
Data Point – more than 7 business days for Wyndham to Caesars Rewards status match
This is just a data point that it took at least 8 business days for my Caesars Diamond status to show up after doing the status match with my Wyndham Diamond.
When you initiate ..
My experience using Fluz as intended
Gift card arbitrage occupies an odd position between “pure” travel hacking and extreme couponing: it’s lucrative enough that most travel hackers do it at least occasionally, but ..
Oregon first-time home buyer savings accounts: is the juice worth the squeeze?
Become a Patron!One of the most interesting things about the US banking system is just how decentralized it is. While most developed nations have just a handful of major banks,