For those who are going to comment, “What’s this have to do with BoardingArea?”, the answer is nothing, so don’t bother. Close the tab and leave.

If you’re still here, know that I’m so excited to travel and can’t wait to post more travel stories. This article has a story behind it.

It was originally published on August 25, 2022, on NextAdvisor in partnership with TIME on the Time.com domain. That site folded in early 2023 and the story disappeared into internet ether. I thought it was a good one, so I want to republish it now—on my own blog—for posterity so it isn’t lost forever.

I’ll admit: It’s definitely on the personal finance side of things. It relates to my own personal finance journey that I’ve chronicled here since 2019 (a literal different world ago). It’s a great complement and explains more of my thinking and personal finance philosophy.

And so, I hope having one more personal finance post is OK. This one’s mostly for me, and I hope you enjoy it too.

I Grew Up Poor and Learned Financial Literacy Late. Now, I’m Investing for My Children and Teaching Them to Become Millionaires

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The post below is in reference to this post about ticket reselling. 

Since last week, I’ve been spinning out because of this whole Travis Scott ticket reselling fiasco. Like, literally been saying some variation of, “Harlan, what did you DO?”

Well, today I did some 0% APR balance transfers and cashed out some stock (which I have never done before in my life) to take some pressure off the situation.

Somewhere in there, I realized how fortunate I am to have financial tools that can get me out of a mess—including the one I made for myself.

Or maybe I’m just intellectualizing the whole thing to feel better about something that was profoundly dumb and risky.

Pic for attention (on one of my walks)

Either way, I’ve learned a lot about my risk tolerance, evolving money philosophies, and how I’ve shifted to a place of security. Yes, security. Even after all that.

Lessons learned from ticket reselling

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Just what the headline says: buy land with credit card. I think it was purely luck. But now I’m wondering if I could do it again.

Plus the document fees, which were another ~$300

I paid with my Bank of America Customized Cash card, had my bonus category set to “online shopping,” paid through PayPal and earned full + bonus rewards for the purchase.

I’ve been trolling eBay looking for other parcels. So far, I haven’t found anything as sweet as the one I bought, but there have been a couple where I came close.

Questions I immediately had were:

• Is this legit?
• They’re selling the crappiest lots, right?
• There could be soooo many issues with the land, the title, the neighbors, access, easements…….

Here’s what I’ve discovered so far.

Buy land with credit card? Apparently yes!

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I just got my first Capital One card over the weekend – and not for lack of previous trying. I’ve applied several times over the past few years but have always gotten a big fat denial. The official reason has always been “too many card accounts” or some other vague message, and I missed out on some really great offers.

I’ve tried to get the Capital One Venture card, the Capital One Spark Miles for Business card, and most recently, the fantastic Capital One Venture X card when it launched in November.

The Capital One Venture X card is THE card to have right now.

The Capital One Venture X card is the best premium card to come along in years. Using this photo until I can take one with my new card

It checks all the boxes: huge welcome bonus, great earning potential, ongoing benefits that justify the annual fee, and an overall simple yet powerful card. For most people looking for a premium rewards credit card, this is the one – and I don’t say that lightly. I really really wanted this card.

Here’s what convinced me to apply again. This time, I was instantly approved online with a $30,000 credit line.

Capital One Venture X approval

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Late on a Saturday night, I ran award searches on the American Airlines site, as one does. Tokyo is one of my favorite places on this planet, and I found business class flights on JAL for only 60,000 miles each way – and dates were (are!) wide open in April 2022.

So, I took “AAdvantage” of Citi’s limited-time partnership with American and transferred Citi ThankYou points to American miles – to book two nonstop round-trip flights in the middle of cherry blossom season.

Here’s hoping this works!

I haven’t flown – anywhere – since March 2020, and this will likely be my next international trip. Japan isn’t open for travel now, but who knows where the world will be in eight months. American’s cancelation policy is flexible, so there’s nothing to lose.

The best part? I’m (hopefully) going for an entire month. And these flights would’ve cost nearly $19,000 had I paid cash!

Japan 2022 in JAL business class

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Last time I was at the Hyatt Bellevue Philadelphia was in May 2016. The visit was my last trip before I left New York for Dallas in June 2016.

I was with my ex at the time. We were already drifting apart, but for this trip, we put that aside – and had a really great time. Philadelphia is a huge, historic city with tons to do, and being back was unexpectedly bittersweet.

After my two nights at the Kimpton Palomar, I drove over to the Bellevue ready to fully immerse myself as a newly minted Hyatt Globalist.

Entrance of the Hyatt Bellevue Philadelphia (lol @ my reflection)

As a digital nomad, I mostly stay at Hyatt Place locations within the Hyatt brand because they’re the cheapest for long-term stays. So I was ready to see what Globalist status would get me a fancy hotel like the Hyatt Bellevue.

Hyatt Bellevue Philadelphia review

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