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Is the Amex Platinum the ultimate travel card? (Las Vegas trip)

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So I recently went to Las Vegas for my birthday. Well, I actually went to multiple places for my bday, but for now we’ll focus on Vegas and the NUMEROUS ways the Amex Platinum card enhanced this trip.

We’ll begin with booking the trip. First with flights, then with hotels. I booked the flight with Frontier Airlines. I normally don’t fly discount airlines because:

#1). They aren’t very comfortable

#2). They “nickel & dime” you for every little thing

Let me show you how my Amex Platinum card helped me with this. Last December Frontier had a “Status Match”. That’s when airlines or hotels will match the status you have with another company in effects of gaining your business. My Amex Platinum gives me Gold status with Marriott & Hilton. For $49 Frontier matched my status for 1 year to their “Elite 50” status. With this, I’m able to “solve” my 2 issues with discount airlines. First I’m able to now pick ANY seat for FREE, including first row & exit rows (for extra leg room). Second my carry-on & checked bags are also FREE. These perks are for me and ANYONE who travels with me. So you see how with just 1 trip, you can offset that $49 fee. But I flew Frontier several times this year, so the fee paid for itself ten fold.

Now that I got the flight out of the way, next let me show you how my Amex Platinum helped with hotels.

With the Amex Platinum you can access American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts program. The benefits of this program are as follows:

  • Room upgrade upon arrival, when available at check-in.
  • Daily breakfast for two people.
  • Guaranteed 4 p.m. late checkout.
  • Noon check-in, when available.
  • Complimentary Wi-Fi.
  • When a property includes Wi-Fi in a mandatory resort fee, you’ll receive a daily credit equal to the Wi-Fi cost.
  • Experience credit valued at $100 or MORE, and usually consists of a property, dining or spa credit.

My favorite of these is the 4pm check-out, since I hate having to wake up early to leave a hotel after having a late night. The room upgrade is probably next. It’s priceless to see the expression of a loved one when you check into a hotel, and they’ve upgraded you to a suite that costs hundreds more, for FREE. Lastly is the Experience credit.

The Experience credit is per stay. So a town like Vegas where the hotels are so close to each other, switching hotels to receive multiple Experience credits in extremely valuable. I booked at The Cosmopolitan & Crockfords at Resorts World

Here are some memories from my Las Vegas trip…

Now inside of The Cosmopolitan complex they have a famous buffet call The Wicked Spoon. There was literally a 1 hour wait in line to get in. I wanted to try it out because I’d heard so much about this spot, but waiting in line for an hour was not exactly on my agenda. Once again, the Amex Platinum for the win. My status with Marriott, that comes with owning the card, you’re listed as a VIP and taken to a totally different line, where we waited 5 min. I have ZERO idea the cost of this, for I just charged it to my room, and the Experience credit covered the expenses. As you’ll see in seconds, the meal was excellent!

In closing, the various ways the Amex Platinum card enhanced my journey:

Airline seats and luggage charges eliminated

Amex Fine Hotel + Resorts perks

VIP status at Wicked Spoon buffet

Oh wait, wait, wait… I totally forgot one the most POWERFUL perks for travelers owning this card. You have access to over 1,400 airport lounges! Free food, free alcohol, and a relaxing atmosphere away from the general population at the airport. Some even have showers. I’ll write a blog about airport lounges at a later date, for it deserves its own post.

As always, catch me in the skies….

Oh yea, and the card is METAL…

Apply for the American Express Platinum card with this link. https://americanexpress.com/en-us/referral/NORRIHcqTi?XLINK=MYCP

Parking “hack” for Cleveland Hopkins International Airport

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One of the most daunting tasks, after you have booked travel, is getting to and from the airport. Am I going to have someone drop me off, and if not, what is the most affordable and convenient parking options. Well for Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, I have your solution.

Now I ALREADY know there are some of you saying “This is easy, just use the Brown lot. It’s like $12 a day, and they have a shuttle that takes you to the airport”. And that’s actually a decent option. But I have an option that will get you to the airport FASTER, and also CHEAPER: The Brookpark RTA station…

The main advantage? Parking is FREE, yes FREE. They have a large lit parking lot with camera’s everywhere. There is short term and long term designated parking areas. I always park in the closer short term lot, because I don’t feel like walking. Plus what are they gonna to do, it’s FREE either way… *kanye shrug*

So after you park, you’re going to walk inside the facility and purchase a ticket for the RTA. You’ll need to purchase one for the “red line”. You’ll press R5.

You’ll then press R5 again for the $2.50 Bus/Rapid

Finally you’ll select your payment method by pressing R6 since hopefully you’ll be using a credit card for your purchase. In our travel community we want to use a credit card to gain points & miles for EVERY transaction.

The machine will spit you out a ticket, then you’ll walk (or take the elevator) upstairs to the platform and wait on the train to arrive.

It comes every 15 min. Often times I’ve got there and walked right on the train with zero wait. There’s no need to brandish your ticket to board, you’ll only need it if a ticket agent comes and asks to see it. In the dozens of times I’ve took this route, that has only happened ONCE. Mainly because the other amazing thing about this, is the ride is literally 2 min 30 sec (I’ve timed it). Yes, 2:30 and you’ll be at the airport. The Brookpark RTA station is the last stop before the airport. So you’ll get on, and the very next stop is Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, so you don’t even have to “think”. You just get on, and the very next stop you get off.

The last piece that makes this “hack” so awesome, is that the RTA drops you off INSIDE of the airport. So you’ll walk off the train, go to the escalators, and proceed the boarding area.

*BONUS* If you use the middle escalator, it takes you directly to the TSA Pre-check line. TSA Pre-check is a MUST have for any serious traveler.

You’ll use this same scenario when you return from your trip, and head back to your vehicle. The first stop the RTA takes from the airport is the Brookpark station.

All in all this will cost you $5 ($2.50 ea. way) regardless HOW long you park your vehicle there. Definitely a “hack” worth knowing.

I’ll probably make a video in the future so that you can SEE the process in real time. Well Knowrisk checking out, and as always, catch me in the skies!

Down the “rabbit hole” of points & miles…

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So some years back, 2017 to be exact, I came to a revelation. I decided that instead of PAYING for a plane ticket, I was going to accumulate enough points & miles to cover a “YOLO” trip. Specifically Africa (Nigeria), Thailand, Tokyo, or Dubai. All of those trips would be an $1000+ ticket, so I wanted to have that part of the trip covered without having to worry about any “out of pocket expense”.

I applied for my 1st travel card then, and THAT started my journey down the “rabbit hole”. Now I have 10+, and enough points & miles to fly ANYWHERE in the world multiple times.

Like most of you, I used to look at credit cards as a way to buy sh#t that I couldn’t otherwise afford, which in turn led to a “hamster wheel” of credit card debt. In my journey to get OUT of credit card debt (a whole ‘nother story) I “conditioned” my brain to think differently about credit, and a whole new world opened up to me. Now instead of requesting line of credit increases, I’m periodically requesting them to LOWER my line of credit (I currently have over $100,000 of available credit that I would NEVER use), cause if your line of credit is too high they may start requesting income verification document. And I ain’t trying have no credit card company all up in my biz, ya dig… So like I said, while I used to be someone who used credit cards to pay for things I couldn’t afford, NOW I used points & miles for things I otherwise WOULDN’T pay for (#bars! 🎶) . Like when I stayed at the Park Hyatt in New York, a hotel that’s upward to $1,400 per night, I used points and paid $0. For example you can literally have 100 people on a plane, and ALL of them paying DIFFERENT prices. There have been times where I paid less flying First Class, than someone did flying Economy. Get familiar…

Now common sense will tell you that the easiest way to obtain flyer miles, is to do what? Exactly! FLY… That’s actually NOT the case. The easiest way to obtain points & miles is the signup bonus from opening a new credit card. Which is why I have so many. Duh!

There is NOTHING that I do as far as traveling that any one of you can’t do. It just took me years of research, trial & error, and mistakes. That knowledge I’m willing to share with you, by first showing you how to accumulate the points & miles, then later showing you how to maximize the USE of them. So if you want to start this journey of aspirational travel, invest $25 into YOURSELF, and click the link below to fill out a short consultation form. You’ll earn that back 1000x over. And when you DO, catch me in the skies!

a map and an eraser
Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich on Pexels.com

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfB7JuPbu1CthkPtcK7lMko9mB4LPCzlXY1okZ_p1WK0AVsZQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

Travel group or nah???

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If you know me on any consistent level, you know that I “get around”. Ummm not SEXUALLY, but in the context of TRAVELING. Whether it’s local/regional restaurants, or traveling from state to state, I get around. I mean having a food/lifestyle blog kinda REQUIRES that.

So recently, I was asked to start a “Travel Group”. I made a FB post about it and received decent feedback. Now I’m going to be 100% honest with you, I really have ZERO intentions on starting a Travel Group. I just made the post to see how many people, who I know will NOT go anywhere, were going to respond. It was basically for my own “entertainment” (which is pretty much every fb status I make actually), but to my surprise, a few RELIABLE people actually responded. Now that DIDN’T change my mind on starting a Travel Group, for it just wasn’t enough reliable people to make it worth while. But it DID “spark” me to give people a blueprint on HOW I’m able to travel so much.

Here it goes…

So in 2018, I had to “game plan” of traveling somewhere every OTHER month. Along the way I lost focus (and my travel partner), but picked it back up in 2019. Aside from my “food journeys” in Northeast Ohio (Cleveland, Akron, Youngstown, Warren etc etc…) and Pittsburgh, this year I’ve traveled to Chicago, Dallas, Minneapolis, Denver, Raleigh, Miami Beach, and Las Vegas.

The “game plan” goes as follows. Like I said, I planned on traveling somewhere every OTHER month. So when the time came, I’d get on all the “discount airline” sites (Frontier, Allegiant, Spirit) and find the cheapest flight going out of Cleveland, Pittsburgh, or Akron. Then REGARDLESS what flight was the cheapest, I’d go to that city. I’d normally end up with flights that were less than $100 round trip. The cheapest I got was $36. These flights would typically be on weekdays, which is fine by me, but occasionally I would get the cheapest price on a weekend.

Typically I’ll stay only 2-3 days, and try to take time around when I’m OFF from work, so that I use minimal vacation time. Most people have no idea where I work, since I NEVER talk about a job, or just think that I somehow DON’T work. Those who know me well, know that I actually have TWO jobs. Fortunately one I can take off pretty much WHENEVER I want, whether I have vacation time or not (which I have PLENTY, because I usually just have them NOT pay me when I take off). The other job, I try to schedule my trips around my days off, so the PTO days are minimal.

When it comes to “room & board”, if you haven’t realized by now I know A LOT of people, so I’m able to stay with a friend. If that’s NOT an option, I do this. I have a Capital One Venture card. Now the ONLY reason I got this credit card was for travel. Firstly the card comes with a with a sign-up bonus of 50,000 miles that you can transfer to an airline partner. But that’s NOT the reason I got it. Thanks to a partnership with Hotels.com that runs through January 2020, when you use the Capital One Venture card to book and pay for hotels using the special link Hotels.com/venture, you’ll earn 10X miles. Coupled with the fact that Hotels.com gives you a FREE night, for every 10 nights books, that’s essentially 24% cash back. Now there are other factors that make it 24%, but this is becoming too drawn out and nerdy so I cut it short. But trust me, I’ve done the “math” *wink*

Now some of you are probably still thinking that you CAN’T afford this. But ask yourself this, do you have cable? And how much is you cable bill? I DON’T have cable. I haven’t watched TV(or listened to radio) on any type of regular basis since the 90’s, which I’m SURE contributes to me thinking “differently” than most people, but that’s a whole ‘nother topic… Anyways, subtract that cable bill, and you’ll definitely be able to afford that flight every OTHER month, with money to SPARE. Plus when I’m on these mini vacations, I don’t typically spend any more money than I would normally spend if I had done something locally.

I actually NEED to “get around” for my mental health. I thoroughly enjoy researching hotels to stay, restaurants to eat, and out of the norm activities to do in a city. Like my recent “obsession” has been Speakeasy’s. You know, hidden bars, like the prohibition days. They’re “littered” all over the country. I’m becoming the KING of hidden bars 🙂

I won’t lie, the more I write, the more I’m thinking of actually starting a Travel Group. Especially after showing you guys how to do it without spending a fortune. I had ZERO intentions on doing a Travel Group at the start of this blog, I might be at 10% now. But it’s a start, right? *kanye shrug*

If 9/11 taught you anything, it should have taught you that you NEVER KNOW what’s going to happen from day to day. There are people who have seen the original World Trade Center, and because of 9/11 they NEVER will. If you have the opportunity to do something, DO IT. You’re going to be TIRED either way, so you might as well experience life. Most people make up excuses NOT to do things, I make up excuses TO do things. Get familiar…

REVIEW: The Fix Bistro-Cleveland Heights,OH

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As you may have noticed (but probably not, because no one reads my blog), I haven’t done a restaurant review in a LONG time. I wanted to wait until Black History Month, where I will review several Black owned restaurants in the area. Now I know some of you will say “Why does it have to be ‘Black owned’?” To you I say, stop reading my blog then *kanye shrug*

Anyways, I feel this restaurant is a fitting one to start off with: The Fix Bistro

It’s located just seconds away from the Cedar Lee Theatre, for all you independent movie fans. Everything about this place says “hip” & “classy”, from the employees, to the building structure, to the pictures on the wall:

The hosts at the door are friendly and inviting. Always with bright smiles on their face, which only serves to set the tone for the rest of the experience. Being a music lover, I was pleasantly surprised to hear a musically selection (softly playing in the background) of D’angelo, Erykah Badu, and Stevie Wonder to name a few.

They have a diverse yet not overwhelming menu ranging from small plates, to entrées, to even some vegan selections for the “animal lovers” out there. Here is a small example of the deliciousness. The rest you’ll have to experience on your own…
Nola Chicken Pasta

BMF Chicken w/mashed potatoes & greens

And starting Sunday Feb 24th they’ll be brunch event called Indulge hosted by Brent Roach Events with an all new brunch menu, “bottomless” Mimosa, and a DJ. Sure to be a unique experience.

The Fix Bistro is one of my favorite eateries in the Cleveland area. If you haven’t ALREADY, you need to Get Familiar…

(216) 383-8130
2195 Lee Road
Cleveland Height, OH 44118

http://thefixbistro.com/
https://www.facebook.com/thefixbistro/

Review: Whistle & Keg-Youngstown,OH

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I actually had heard NOTHING about this place until I happened to go on Instagram and saw a short video by my friend Steve Wishnewski. It was a video of what seemed like “endless” self-serve beer taps. My interest was IMMEDIATELY peaked. I hit up one of my friends, asked them what they were doing, and we headed up there. The place is Whistle & Keg.

Whistle & Keg is in the heart of downtown Youngstown, which is vastly becoming a nightlife hub for the area. But I can’t say there is anything like it. Yes, it’s a bar. And yes, it has numerous craft beers. But this is the only place that has SELF-SERVE beer taps! If you’re wondering how that works, it goes a little something like this. You go to the counter, they’ll ask you for your ID and a credit/debit card. Then they give you a magnetic wristband. With this band you walk up to the “self-serve” area, grab a glass, choose the beer you would like to try, place your wristband to the beer tap to activate it, and pour. Just that simple:

They charge by the oz. The taps will show the alcohol content of each beer and the amount you have drunk throughout the night (there is a limit). When cashing out, you return your bracelet back to the counter and they will print out a receipt, just like any bar or restaurant. Needless to say, you should tip just like any other bar. Though you are pouring the beer YOURSELF, the workers are very helpful in directing you on how to order drinks (for this will be foreign to a lot of people) and knowledgeable on the beers.

They have multiple tv’s in the venue and they were willing to accommodate what we wished to watch (Oklahoma City Thunder vs New York Knicks). All in all I just like the way the place is built.

Interestingly enough , I ended up spending LESS money than I normally would when I’m out having a drink, while simultaneously trying MORE beers. When you want to try different beers you typically won’t drink a whole 12 oz’s, so the fact that they charge by the oz works out great. To sum things up, this is probably one of the coolest concepts I’ve seen in a long time. It’s like going to a Beer Fest, but EVERYDAY. I actually wish I would have taken MORE pictures and videos, but I was so caught up in the atmosphere that I forget. Plus when I walked in and heard Amy Winehouse playing through the speakers, I already KNEW it was going to be right up my alley. I’m thoroughly impressed by this place and I’ll be making it my business to try out EVERY craft beer they have on tap! Get familiar…

101 W. Federal street
Youngstown, Ohio
https://www.facebook.com/pg/whistleandkeg/community/?ref=page_internal

Review: White House Fruit Farm-Canfield,OH… part II

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Yes, part II. If you remember, I previously reviewed White House Fruit Farm (https://knowriskspeaks.com/index.php/2017/01/18/reviewrant-white-house-fruit-farm-canfieldoh/) ,unfortunately I was unable to give it a PROPER review because I was “misled” on what it was all about. But now that I’ve been properly introduced to the place, after several visits, I can give a fair assessment. Also it’s part of me overcoming my “fear”(as stated in the previous review) of Canfield, though coming across this sign didn’t help matters:

Let me start by saying the staff has been extremely inviting every time I’ve went. Which is probably the most impressive thing to me. I walked in looking at FRUIT, since it IS a “fruit farm”. A guy mopping the floor noticed I was browsing the fruit section and immediately suggested the peaches. Telling me that he ate one earlier and it was delicious:

He was absolutely CORRECT. And as you can see, the peaches are quite sizable. If you’ve ever eaten FRESH fruit, you know it tastes totally DIFFERENT than fruit in the store. An apple off the TREE tastes nothing like an apple in the store. And these peaches were no exception. I also bought onions:

and green peppers:

There is absolutely zero comparison to having fresh fruits and vegetables. They grow apples, strawberries, blueberries, nectarines, sweet corn, asparagus, tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, eggplant, & pumpkins.

They also have events, from the 5k run, to the “Mugs of Love for Mom” class, to the Strawberry Festival. Then there’s the bakery and of course White House’s famous Blueberry Donuts:

Now my first experience with their donuts didn’t exactly go as planned because I was led to believe that they would be warm. So my opinion was biased. Plus their most famous donuts are the blueberry, and if anyone knows me well, you know I HATE blueberries. Mainly because of a “traumatic” experience I had as a kid. I goes like this…

As a kid, like ALL kids, my two sisters and I would “beg” my mom to buy things in the store. And normally things you don’t NEED, just somehow feel you WANT (even when we didn’t know what it was). No amount of her telling us to STOP doing this curbed our “enthusiasm”. One day we’re in the frozen food section of a grocery store, and we start “begging” for these blueberries. It was 1 pound of frozen blueberries in a bag. Needless to say, we really didn’t need this. To our surprise though, my Mama actually BOUGHT them. So we get home and my mom proceeds to put the frozen blueberries in a pot. Places the pot on the oven over medium heat. Once thawed, she takes this big silver spoon ( I’ll never forget), scoops out a glob of these warm blueberries, and slaps them in separate bowls for each of us. Then says “Ok, there you go. Eat up…” We look at each other bewildered .My sister Sherri says “Ummm you’re not going to make them into a pie or something?”. My mom says “That’s not what y’all asked for. So either eat them, or you’re getting a whoppin’ “. I took a small sample of them and GAGGED! I couldn’t believe the situation I placed myself in. I had some decisions to make. I looked my Mama dead in the eye and said “I’ll take the whoppin’. And can I have mine FIRST please?” I never liked blueberries again… *kanye shrug*

All in all though I can confidently say that White House Farms soon become my “go to” place for fruits & veggies. And I’m seriously looking forward to hand picking strawberries. Get familiar…

(330)533-4161
http://www.whitehousefruitfarm.com
https://www.facebook.com/whitehousefruitfarm/