How Air Miles are the biggest scam ever...

This really is a case study for Canada, but I am sure the business practices extend throughout the company globally. A little bit of background, I've collected air miles my entire adult life mostly because my family collected them, and it just seemed like something I should do. I got a free card, and some free air miles, but the first thing I realized is that I can't earn them fast enough unless I use a air miles rewarding credit card, but before getting that card, I never realized the value of a mile, that is until today when I thought about redeeming them. The rest of blog is going to talk about the dollar value of a mile, then the millions of better alternatives out there.

The value of a air miles is subjective, pending on what you use it for. One of the biggest problem with airmiles reward miles is that air miles controls what you can spend the air mile on. For most items you spend get your airmile will be worth 8-13cents a mile. In fact your are lucky to come by around 13c. Simple math, lets use them for Bose QC 15 for example -

Redeem for 3000 miles, retails for 349.99. Simple math is as follows (including GST):
349.99(1.05)/3000 = $0.12 for a mile

Math for PS3 redemption:

249.99(1.05)/3400 =  $0.077 for a mile

Westjet Flight (pends on when you are booking):

$149/1200 = $ 0.13

Lets take the mid case of the three, and assume than an air miles is worth 12 cents. Now lets look at the earning structure : 99.99% of the time no pay/airmiles sponsors cards will give you 1 mile/ $20 you spend. Anyone that collects them know this statement to be true!

So if you spend $100, you get five air miles at .12 cents a mile, you get a total of: 60 cents back on items that air miles dictate you can have.Now thats the big problem, you can get lots of free cards that give you at least 1% cash back, and thats cash folks, you can spend that on anything you want. To recap in simple terms:

For every $100 spent:
Airmiles - .60c in airmiles sponsored items
Alternative - $1.00 in Cash

 MBNA you can get 1% of everything, plus 3% on gas and groceries. Yes, filling up at Shell is also a bad idea, if you're in there for Air Miles. Way more value at Superstore (you are looking at getting $2/ $40 of spending vs $.24/ $40 of gas spending). The best card I can recommend is the Capital One World Travel card with $120.00 annual fee. But you get $100 back in annual points just for having the card, and 2 miles worth .01 a mile for every dollar you spend. Thats 2% back on any purchase for only $20. And you can spend these miles however you like, whatever flights you like, whatever hotels or car rentals --> its much much better than the air miles scam. As a marketer though, I have to respect Loyalty One for being able to see such a shit non competitive offering, and getting it engraved in people's mind as well as they have.If you got a vendetta against CapOne! Then I believe CIBC and RBC offer some great alternatives out there.

Now, you can get value out of the card provided you do not have an airmiles credit card. You just carry the regular card and don't actively shop at airmiles sponsors just because they are airmiles sponsors. But at the same time, its going to take so long to get any points back, you are almost better off not carrying the weight of the card in your wallet.


And no, I did not get paid by anyone to write this!

Life as of March 25 2012

This weekend, still recovering from last weekend - Vicky's stag. It wasn't cheap. In fact I am still paying for it. I don't know if I had the best of time, but the important thing was that Vicky was happy, and that makes it just that much better. There were epic times though, best quote to remember from this weekend was a quick conversation that Raju had with one of our guests.

Monika:"So you're young! are you a virgin?"
Raju:"Yea, are you?!"
Monika: "am I a virgin?"

Kudos to the kids for making it out here! It as appreciated as far as I can take appreciation. Can't post too much more about that weekend.

Work is going to to get very stressful this week I feel. My boss and his boss are both gone, and their boss is also probably leaving. I have a lot more responsibility than I am use to, but I can also work at my own pace which I really hope reflects on the quality of my work. It has been a long time blog, during this time I thought of lots of things to talk about them, but unfortunately, I can't remember any right now.

Till next time!

The Right to Demand Respect.

The title of this blog is an irony. No one can demand respect, you have to earn it. My Dad passed down some words of wisdom that his father passed down to him once. "You can take a lifetime to build respect, and only few seconds to destroy it" The advice didn't go any further which was the best part, cause it didn't tell me what do to keep it, if I should behave or act a certain way or to dodge those seconds. This is always been true, and my fastest frame of reference is the Rachel Wik fiasco. This week someone demanded respect, not gonna mention the persons name, but if you know the guy should be pretty apparent.

Gandhi said there was two types of discrimination in India, one against Indians and one against women. Unfortunately he missed one. This discrimination is against the in-laws on the women's side. So a bit of background...all flows with the drowy system where a guy's family feels entitled to the fucking every bit of what the girls family owns. The story now then goes, a buddy's brother in law asked me for a copy of MS office for Mac. I said OK, I didn't have internet for a while, then my drive with the file was with someone else for a while. Anyways took me a month to get it to him in its entirety. I kept getting repeat messages that he need it. During one of those message, I replied saying, I have priorities, this is not one of them, a new copy is $100. My intent was to say, "Hey...I can't get this to you, in case you gotta a assignment or something due" But it was taken as an insult to honour.  I implied that he was cheap (this guy took 3 hours to decide if he was ready to spend $1 on angry birds, after loving the trial, and this somehow implied he was cheap). He wrote me a really angry email, calling me a, "little person, rude, disrespectful, and noxious and that I may never contact his family again for any reason." He also cc my buddy who couldn't careless, and his father in law on this message expecting something hard to be taken care off, as he has just demanded respect cause he married a daughter of the house. Now, this guy is a special case..I couldn't ever picture anyone getting there father in law involved in some soo petty and soo small. No matter how shallow the culture gets at its core.

I had a great time laughing my ass off with his with my co-workers in the morning. But my room-mate had some very exciting thought that kind of justified this. Its very very petty, but he believed being in the mid-thirties and living with a family on student loans leaves a man very insecure, always on edge so this should be very expected. Bit of migration on a gold digging, and then struggling to get into school...all that has to be very very tough on anyone. It made me realize that age is still a number, this is petty to me cause I am mature beyond it, and I guess some people don't make that post adolescent leap till they are forty. All in all, great entertainment.

The Corporate Life

So its been a just over a month, living in the corporate world. I can't complain, maybe its the culture at SHAW, which is very laid back...by my standards anyway.  Very very good work life balance...infact..I have soo much free time I have to get increasingly creative on how to entertain myself.  Also learning the ABCs of the corporate politics...its still easier than SU politics..

Lots of going out this weekend, hangin with Dimitri, Devanshias and randoms. This discretionary income deal is dangerous. But I gotta start saving one day..might as well be this day. I still don't know if I am bar person...I think I am a people person. I have this deep resentment of Sam time that I use to love...now always always around people...much happier this way I think.

Roommate, Olivier... well he is 'frugal,' but it's really working out this time. It surprising cause he is one of the only roommates I have ever had that I haven't known before, and blows my mind on how conservative people think.  Always been a big fan of the late night comedy making fun of the 'republican way' but it's actually surreal when you meet someone with that value set. To each his own I guess...but when you start arguing with I don't believe in global warming, and even if it is real, the best people to take responsibility is the private sector....sounds like Fox News propaganda to me.

There and back again - by Sam Singla

It's funny, I have always been told that if you tell God your plans for the future, he will laugh. As I get older 24 yesterday, I am starting to realize that which is true. I don't think I've ever had a 5 year plan in my life which has worked out as planned, its always been better. I love my life...its a great great life, I am very blessed and for the life of me can not figure out what I did to deserve it.

So we left off at the IBM offer not working out, but as the case has always been - something better happened. I drove down to Vancouver for an interview in Calgary. Yes, I know I hate Calgary...and yes..I vowed I would never come back. But that all got left in the dust for a passionate project that I want to be a part of. Making western canada a wifi Zone. I love the people that I work with, I love the work I am doing. I was really scared about my qualifications in taking this position, 2 weeks in, it feels way too right. And being in Calgary feels too right, I miss my family, but all my friends are here. It nothing I could've ever pictured, but now that I am doing it I glad and happy. Oh right, my role is product strategy and financial modeling for the Wifi project...but I am doing a a lot more and a lot less..till I really figure out where I belong in there I guess.

 Christmas this year felt very divided. But there were parts of it which were the best, Sheetal wasn't home this year so Dan came over to help with Tree, the Temp Apple Job was just brilliant. I met some great people, and some not so great ones..but it was a welcome change after spending so much time alone this part few weeks. Xmas gifts...real joy in giving, also went broke, giving and moving this week. I am living above one of my fav restaurants, Glory of India..so can't complain about the living situation, I think I found a good roommate but I am going to need another one in 6 months, which is probably for the best. My Birthday yesterday was spent with Vik's family which is starting to feel like my family, plus the excessive drinking. Actual Xmas day, coupled with Mandir duty just didn't feel so right..but w.e...things happen. On the ending note... finally having a job in the field that I want,

Working for something I am passionate about - Epicness. Also completely independent for the first time in my life. Man can I start telling people to F*off (thinking in the family, if you read this...you'll know if your one of them...)

Fall Blues/Dragons' Den

Haven’t blogged for weeks!! There been much going on recently So came very very close to getting a gig at one the best companies in the world, but then I just got an email saying that they were no longer in a position to fill that spot because of some very recent changes. Maybe its bad luck, maybe its destiny, I am just hoping its not karma. Disappointed by that news, I felt very much to be left alone, and I just called it a early night. That was literally the most exciting thing to happen on my Halloween. Regardless, I am still optimistic about the future, and always try to the think the best of things that happen around me.

Writing this blog from Kamloops right now, here to drive my sister to an interview at a ‘hotel’ called 540…I don’t understand why I am here or why there needs to be an interview in Kamloops. The industry is far more dominant in Kelowna and really nothing about this town that makes me wanna be here…but I am not her, I think she is probably scared that she doesn’t have a job, having a risk adverse personality, some people take the job they get offered rather than a job that’s really right for them. Maybe that’s the right way, I really don’t know, but that’s not what my intuition tells me to do.

So in other news, watching a ton of Dragons’ Den. I always loved the show, but now that I actually started watching it in some capacity and started to analyze it..it makes no sense to me. Its hard to be a judge of the process on the show, because to the best of my knowledge the process compromised for the entertainment value. Being on a national broadcast, and having ‘more accomplished’ just scrutinize yourself only appeals to three types of people. I made a demographic out of them!

Type1: Inventers

 An ambitious inventor, who is not an entrepreneur, does not understand anything about business. These are the people who are more or less on the show can support some claims with sales, typically get the cash. These people are fully aware of the situation and are realistic about expectations Examples include the spike shoe, and the shoelaces. I think the show was probably designed best for these people, and it’s a great avenue for them to develop an idea, as they need the investors resources that are far beyond the cash. The inventor who doesn’t understand evaluation, and inventors seldom do is worth nothing or everything.

Type2: The Moron

 The idiot whose ideas suck so much and they continue to believe in it cause of their own social groups. I think these people at some level know their idea is shit, but they are desperate, so if your desperate, no one local is willing to invest in your idea, you will be attracted to a show like Dragons’ Den…so they take a gamble…pride for potential cash. Plus, they are super entertaining so I am sure the show loves em too. The most extreme example of this is the retard that tries to sell magic water. The less extreme version are all the stupid female specific ideas that exist cause of dirty dirty men....fixin vixen, and that Mrs. Lube..what the fuck was she thinking.

Type3: The I duunos

These people don’t have a clue what they are doing. Hitting up highly saturated markets and claiming that 1% of blah blah blah. Even if they have a decent product/idea…they are not the right people to invest in. They typically don’t have a clue of what’s the cost to market. What’s the competition, what’s the value of the patent…NO clue what is going on. They just throw a number out there and hope other people think they are worth something. Seldom successful, they just don’t understand evaluation. You are NOT worth what you think you will be in 5 years. No one wants to give them money now so in 5 years they’ll be worth the investment they put in today. The whole point of going to an angel for money so that an angel can bet on you and what you worth in five years. The reason that these people don’t work is cause they are gamblers, and the dragons are risk takers. The difference between a gamble and a risk is that a risk is calculated.

Anyway! Favorite Dragon: Brett Wilson. Not just cause we graduated from the same school. But the man thinks with the ethics system that I do. He may have a background in finance, but the man’s a marketer by heart! I loved him from his very first episode, where he opens with, “all this money is for charity anyway, I have enough, your children are going to have enough.” Watching him on the show for me makes him a great role model. The sad news is that in School events, I’d see him all the time, wearing jeans, where everyone else was wearing tuxes. Before the show he was intimidating, soo intimidating to approach as I never did talk to him. After the show, I feel like I can just run up to the guy and share a life story…maybe not quite. But saying Hi to Brett just kind of feels like a missed opportunity, not cause I think it could have led to potential cash or employment! but because I would’ve just been able to take so much away from him in his personality.  Things happen, maybe we’ll meet some other day working for charities we both love

What to blog about this week! Well, I am the most antisocial I have ever been in my life, but that has also made job hunt more productive. Right now I am looking at hopefully and potentially three different employers. Most of this week has been sitting and waiting for someone to call for a phone interview, I know to expect one on a particular day but that makes it even worse, every time the phone rings, my heart skips a beat.  The feeling is probably best described as the SU elections, but only the last half hour and the anxiety building up, hopefully next week I am employed but I can't say for sure...

Also, this week watched the Kennedy's miniseries, it deserved a higher budget but entertaining/informative regardless. Downloaded a lot of music this week too, weird that Gurdaas Mann is coming to town, and I've never been to big of a fan, but picking up some of his 90's stuff.