Everyone in the game knows that SUBs are the most lucrative ways to print points.

But there’s another option with Amex that allows you to squeeze some more juice out of this game.

We're going deep on the Amex upgrade/downgrade game…

What it is, how it works, the rules you must understand before touching anything, and the optimal strategy to squeeze maximum points out of every card in the ecosystem.

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Got hit with some news this past week!

Let’s get right into it.

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Intro

Had a couple people reach out asking about paying taxes this year, so wanted to drop a quick post.

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Intro

Got really good feedback from the past few months, so we’ll continue to do these posts to highlight the important Slack messages from each month to make sure everyone is up to speed.

We’ll get right into it and separate each section by Slack channel.

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Last week was one of my worst airport experiences ever.

We were determined to fly, as this trip was a bucket list experience we were waiting for for years, but it was pretty rough to say the least.

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It’s official, we live in a simulation.

This has been a helluva week.

(If you are a paid member and haven’t DM’ed me for Slack access yet, please do so)

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Intro

Got really good feedback from the past few months, so we’ll continue to do these posts to highlight the important Slack messages from each month to make sure everyone is up to speed.

We’ll get right into it and separate each section by Slack channel.

Please make note of the two new channels as there are two big new plays.

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I gotta emphasize in this one, that is is in no way, shape, or form financial advice of any kind.

And this play definitely comes with risk so be smart about it…

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See what I did there?

IYKYK

There’s was some initial confusion with this play, so without further ado, let’s get right into it!

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Last week’s call stirred up a fire I haven’t seen in this community in a while.

You guys are salivating for juicy ALFA and new plays.

For those that haven’t listened to the call yet, you can listen to the recording here:

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This will be the one of the most important calls in the history of the community.

The link to tonight’s call will be posted in the Slack Group shortly before 8:00PM ET.

If you’re a paid sub and not in the Slack Group, please DM me here to get access.

Disclaimer: None of this is to be deemed legal or financial advice of any kind.

This will be the one of the most important calls in the history of the community.

The link to Tuesday’s call will be posted in the Slack Group shortly before 8:00PM ET.

If you’re a paid sub and not in the Slack Group, please DM me here to get access.

Disclaimer: None of this is to be deemed legal or financial advice of any kind.

Intro

Got really good feedback from the past few months, so we’ll continue to do these posts to highlight the important Slack messages from each month to make sure everyone is up to speed.

We’ll get right into it and separate each section by Slack channel.

Read more

Intro

For many of us, paying our rent/mortgage is one of the easiest ways to hit signup bonuses in this game.

Historically, Bilt has been a straight forward way to earn a return on rent with easy redemption options.

Personally, I’ll be skipping Bilt and opting for other rent payments options (which I’ll discuss later)…

But wanted to address the changes in this program as I know many of you have used Bilt in the past and others are curious what these changes mean.

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The BowTiedBum community be like:

Trump

This is not a political blog in anyway shape or form and while I’m not a fan of censorship of any kind, I try to make sure there is no political talk in the Slack community for any reason.

Our game/hobby is a great way to escape from the real world and earn magic internet money and free travel…

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Intro

Got really good feedback from the past few months, so we’ll continue to do these posts to highlight the important Slack messages from each month to make sure everyone is up to speed.

We’ll get right into it and separate each section by Slack channel.

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Back to the grind!

Hopefully you all had a nice holiday and enjoyed some time to relax with your loved ones.

I loved the DMs some of you sent me about your holiday vacations.

I live for these!

Some housekeeping items to address to ensure we all get off to a hot start in 2026.

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This will be the only free trial of 2026.

I’ll be bringing back the free 7 day trial for new members, effective immediately.

I’ll be limiting the amount of people that can sign up to 26 new members.

Why?

I want to preserve the quality of the Slack Group and not inundate the chat with hundreds of new people at once.

Note that the Substack Membership is still including free Slack Group access for life, as long as your paid Substack membership remains active.

How it Will Work

Click on any “paid” post, or the bottom of this post, and it’ll offer a free 7 day trial. Note that you’ll have to enter in your credit card info. If you decide you don’t want to stick with it, simply cancel your membership before the 7 day trial period ends.

SLACK GROUP

Make sure to join the Slack Group. I can’t stress this enough. There is a very active community that shares tips and tricks, and helps each other along their journey. You can join by DMing me “FREE TRIAL: (Email you signed up with) on Substack. To be absolutely clear, you must use the same email for both Slack and Substack, so if you want to go anon use an anon email (you can also hide your email in Slack if worried).

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My recent Eurotrip was a wild ride.

Like many of you, I’m points rich so was able to book my hotel last minute, but didn’t have as many options as I would have liked.

I’ll recap the good, the bad, and the ugly as well as my thoughts on where we stand as a community as we approach year end.

I’ll discuss my thoughts on this year as well as my strategy for next year.

Let’s dive in!

Note: The pictures below aren’t mine. Most of the pics I took included me, my wife, and my children, so I found photos of the places I went to that look more professional and paint a clearer picture of my trip.

The Flight

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We’re long overdue for a catch up, and I wanted to discuss:

-the state of the BowTiedBum community

-reflect on 2025 up until now

-Have a look at what’s to come

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