Today we have a two class system where the haves: are willing to spend $100 (or have credit card credits) for the program, jump through hoops to get fingerprinted and admitted, and can pass the criminal and customs background check.

You can’t have any crimes or customs violations on your record for Global Entry. You can fly, just not prescreened.

So the Obama speech coaching worked...

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This deal only applies to Frontier, Spirit, and Allegiant in the US. I live 20m from the airport and travel with my wife and son. I have done it at least four times at over $120 a trip - plus seat assignments for free. The whole process including drivetime takes about two hours. $60/hr is a pretty good wage.

The Irish are the reason we are even commenting about all this... they wrote down all the sagas!

WU is still around, big presence in Denver. I used to work there too. WU partners with Netspend on a cobranded card (my old project). If you want to send money (cash) quickly, especially internationally, it’s your first stop. Just make sure you actually know the recipient, because that money is not coming back.

In Minnesota, apartment buildings have outlets in the parking lot for diesel vehicles with warming coils to plug into in the wintertime. Surely wherever you park your car has a source of electricity nearby.

I have Progressive, and in the two major accidents I’ve had, I dropped my vehicle off at their service center, and they released a perfectly repaired and washed vehicle back to me after I paid the deductible. It was super easy.

I love Advantage and other rental places that try to convince you that you need the biggest baddest 4x4 they have to make it up I-70 W bound at any time of year. In the winter, sure you need good tread on M+S tires or better (no guarantee their upgraded vehicle has that) and at the VERY least, you need windshield…

If I am not going to use up a full tank of gas in a sedan (15 gal or thereabouts), I am probably doing Uber or public transportation. In my experience (traveling all over the US for work and pleasure) the rental place rate is competitive with the price gouging of gas stations close enough to the airport that you can…

The biggest issue in this story was that Metals.com was selling gold and silver at HUGE premiums over the spot price, not that the metal prices were volitile. If you pay $32 for an $16 spot price Royal Canadian Mint Silver 1 oz coin, you are down 50% as soon as you take delivery. The scam isn't the coins, it's the…

It’s a margin game really unless you are traveling for work. The fact that airlines and hotels mandate that the traveler gets the miles/points basically means you get extra compensation for being on the road, even if all your spend is on a company issued card. If you don’t travel for work, and you don’t spend a ton of…

Zelle is probably the fastest way to send money between US bank accounts. I can send money to my wife it will show up in her account in minutes and be available for withdrawal. Unfortunately, because it is so fast and funds are available immediately, things get hairy if you send money to the wrong person.

About ten years ago I was living in ATL and was drinking with a buddy at our condo’s bar. I met a guy who said he was my new neighbor - he recognized me walking out of my house. Nice guy, we chatted a bit, and then went on our way. The next morning another neighbor knocked on my door in a panic, and asked if I would…

I got summoned to an early meeting for the hatchet, and they were so pissed I was late. Why show up on time for your own funeral?

Hole saws are only a pain if you are using them to expand an existing hole and can’t use the bit in the center. For a nice fresh piece of plastic, it should have worked just fine.

Precisely. As the story goes, Achilles as a baby was dipped by his mother in the River Styx, making him invulnerable except for the bit on the heel where his mother held him. So to have an Achilles heel, you have to be invulnerable/perfect/whathaveyou except for that one singular thing. If you have more than one…

The automakers are right to stay out of this fight. Coming out to defend CA only offends Trump to gain nothing. Siding with Chao and company offends CA who can use the state tax code and motor vehicle registration codes to achieve the exact same result as the regulations. 

It’s a pure power play. Power has trumped principle for the GOP for a while now.