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Seattle Airport Centurion Lounge (or maybe San Fransciso???) – photo owned by L, edited by moderatelivingblog.wordpress.com

Feel bad for my friend and everyone that paid for these steep lounge/hotel perks for a long time.

I remember feeling like it was a good thing getting my Amex. Global entry, or whatever it was called, was a pretty cool program. Having all these perks and benefits was nice. But it came with a steep annual fee. Now, though, almost every credit card has these benefits to one degree or another – especially airport lounge access. This is why I’m looking into fractional jet ownership (as if I can get it at this point πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚) and I’ve already done private helicopter service. This is yet another reason why I don’t commit to the majority of ordinary exclusivity perks any longer. In time, what is exclusive becomes for everyone and while hopping out at the peak of hysteria has a sense of thrill to it, I’m just too transcendent to engage in that baboonery lol. I still do hotel stays once or twice a month but I just pay out of pocket at that instant. No sense in tying it in with credit/check card benefits.

I won’t lie, that card looks pretty nice though. I just keep it in my wallet to flash at opportune times like I’m one of those vibrant but horrifically poisonous tropical rainforest frogs that you shouldn’t attempt to eat. πŸ˜‚.

photo by: moderatelivingblog.wordpress.com

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37 responses to “The “Low Hanging Fruit” Exclusivity Game : Curating A Lifestyle On Soft Ground”

  1. thechristiantechnerd Avatar

    You are such a talented writer, I am so glad I stumbled upon your blog today! I hope you are okay with me subscribing so I can read what you have coming up next! Have a wonderful weekend!

    1. CJ Antichow Avatar
      CJ Antichow

      He totally is!! Tuesdays β€˜n Fridays, something to look forward to! ☺️

      1. Michael Williams Avatar

        aww thanks Ceej πŸ˜€

    2. Michael Williams Avatar

      sure thing! i’m honored that you stopped by have a blessed Friday πŸ™‚

  2. CJ Antichow Avatar
    CJ Antichow

    Aww…how do i say i feel so bad for you that your exclusive benefits aren’t so exclusive anymore, but make it sarcastic?! πŸ€­πŸ˜‰πŸ˜‚

    1. Michael Williams Avatar

      LMAO! i tried my best to not make it sound that way but i realized it just wasn’t going to happen so I just embraced the villainy hahaha

  3. Sara Allwright Avatar

    Fractional jet ownership sounds good! I won’t ask the fraction πŸ€“πŸ˜‚

    1. Michael Williams Avatar

      hahaha! it’s a fraction that myself and many of us probably would balk at lol. but i did a private charter once on a gulfstream and … my goodness … i just can’t go back to commercial πŸ˜€

      1. Sara Allwright Avatar

        πŸ˜…πŸ˜… I won a free flying lesson a long time ago. A two person plane, I loved it and wanted more lessons and have my own plane. I didn’t get any further than the free lesson I won πŸ˜‚πŸ˜…πŸ˜‚β€¦.gutted! πŸ˜žπŸ™ƒ

        1. Michael Williams Avatar

          i bet it was quite an experience! πŸ˜€ may a private jet appear on your road to whisk you away to your preferred vacation πŸ˜€

          1. Sara Allwright Avatar

            It was! 😁
            I’ll keep my eyes peeled in the morning. We don’t know what’s around the corner πŸ˜πŸ˜…

  4. lyndhurstlaura Avatar

    It’s an unfortunate fact that ‘exclusive’ things don’t stay that way for long. Me and my man took a ferry from Dover to Ostend for a week in Belgium some years ago, and upgraded to the 1st class lounge on the way out. That was great – but on the way back everybody upgraded, so it was as crowded as ordinary economy class. I don’t know the answer, but we’ve never done that again. 😊

    1. Michael Williams Avatar

      EXACTLY! this is what befalls all nice services. in an effort to get more people, they open up the rates. this is the same thing they do for internet service. it’s always the new customers that get good deals meanwhile we have to threaten to walk out so that they give us discounts!

  5. justrojie Avatar

    Ugh I encountered that when I was in Seattle so I went to the delta lounge πŸ˜†

    1. Michael Williams Avatar

      centurion lounge is for when you’re slumming it lmao πŸ˜€

  6. thingsihavethoughtof Avatar

    I would avoid the lounge Monday mornings around 5:30, it is super packed, everyone is in a rush, queues everywhere. The food is never that great, and you’re eating off a lounge chair arm.

    Instead I’d go to the normal cafeteria partly to avoid people, but have a proper breakfast like bacon and eggs with a real barista coffee. And a lot closer to the Gate so I could take my time.

    It seems weird to me that people who supposedly have everything would go through all that to be rushed and crushed just for their ‘free’ cheap crappy food.

    Friday night was great in the lounge, it was our Friday night drinks, probably 20 or so of us from our company in there each time. Plus coming back from Canberra, you could spot a couple of the Politicians and journalists mingling with us riff-raff, and discover just how much of an alcoholic they were;-)

    1. Michael Williams Avatar

      that’s so funny about the politicians lol! i bet it feels good for them to just ease out of official conduct for a little bit and i bet they’re keen to mix it up with us commoners once in a while!

      I’ll say though that the Centurion lounges are a step above in terms of presentation and – depending on the airport – the food. But in the last 3 years or so, it’s gotten so crowded that it’s better to do what you do and just go to the cafeteria if you have time.

      one thing though that i like about the Centurion is that they have drinks and sometimes, that’s all you need to get the party started at cruising altitude LOL just kidding haha

      1. thingsihavethoughtof Avatar

        Yes, drinks are a must if you’re travelling home after a long day or week!

  7. ibarynt Avatar

    We’ve never used the lounges. With the crowd here can you imagine how exclusively common or is that the other way, we are πŸ˜….

    Mike it’s just a few hundred billion $ jet 😁.

    1. Michael Williams Avatar

      in reality, it’s lost its exclusivity for some time now. I don’t think it’ll ever come back. it was nice though – it’s a world thing for sure. more and more people are getting into the middle class. for the long run, I’m ok with it πŸ™‚

      well, are you and your family interested in sharing the cost with me for fractional ownership? we’ll work out a nice system of time sharing πŸ˜€

      1. ibarynt Avatar

        I don’t mind sharing. Guess I should start counting coins for that fractional ownership, inflation and all 😁

        1. Michael Williams Avatar

          πŸ˜‚ we’ll get there Iba!

  8. Kate@athousandbitsofpaper Avatar

    This gave me a chuckle, you write with wit – Ahh the groans of first world problems – I’m the same – sighing at the inconvenience and then chuckling ruefully at how lucky I actually am πŸ˜‚

    1. Michael Williams Avatar

      lol thank you Kate πŸ˜€

      I have to say though that photo my friend sent me while she was waiting was very beautiful. but the subject we discussed is a tough one for those who have and who continue to travel.

      we must transcend to fractional jet ownership – even THAT concept suggests there is a growing democratization in that playing field LOL πŸ˜‚

      1. Kate@athousandbitsofpaper Avatar

        It also raises a great point though Michael – when exclusivity becomes too widely taken up it’s not exclusive anymore. And it’s the same with so many things – I find the current trend of people boasting of β€œraw dogging β€œ flights with no distractions, no phone, no inflight movies or even a book on further ad some sort of testament to discipline (or something to add to the lie Tik Tok) as pretty funny.

        1. Michael Williams Avatar

          lol yes! i’ve seen the trend on social media. i have to say, it’s quite admirable haha

          1. Kate@athousandbitsofpaper Avatar

            Yes but imagine sitting next to someone that was just staring at the back of the seat in front of them instead of reading a book. I would be nervous of breathing too loudly

            1. Michael Williams Avatar

              haha! πŸ˜€ i know this is bad to say but in recent years, there’s been enough weird plane behavior that it doesn’t really surprise me any longer.

  9. Ana Daksina Avatar

    I wonder whether it’s possible to do business anywhere any more in which one purchases a simple product for a simple flat fee. If I want to get from here to there I purchase a ticket. If I want to sit in the lounge I purchase a reservation for entrance. Since purchases are straightforward, before I pay to sit in the lounge I can ask exactly how many other people have also paid to sit in the lounge at that time.

    Even the simplest phone plan any more comes with all manner of bells and whistles I personally never use ~ and just forget the idea of figuring out your bill. There are three different dates just to begin with for “cycle,” service and device… What the help line operator tells you (I typed “hell-line” by mistake, but then of course you reach a very different set of help lines than are allocated to my type!), the in-store staff will contradict…

    As far as I’m concerned, we can take all these bonus-package deals back to UPS and just give me what I actually want to buy. And while I’m at it, I want to be able when buying a product in store to see and hold it outside of its sealed package first. We are truly expected to buy our products “sight unseen.” Grrr!

    1. Michael Williams Avatar

      this is very true Ana. in fact, this is how many Apps on phones get downloaded – by that bait and switch method. you only find out that there are tiers to their service after you have signed on. I absolutely despise that business method.

      however, if they tell you up front what you will get for your tier of service and are clear about stipulations and variabilities, I can at least work with that. great thoughts on this Ana

      1. Ana Daksina Avatar

        πŸ‘

  10. The Mindful Migraine Blog Avatar

    Never had the perks, so well used to joining the long queue! Linda xx

    1. Michael Williams Avatar

      if we could just figure out a safe teleportation machine, then we’d get rid of this airport stuff πŸ™‚

      1. The Mindful Migraine Blog Avatar

        indeed – I often dream of having a finger-clicking-transportation skill… alas… not mastered yet! xx

  11. Mindful Mystic (MM) Avatar

    Ha! Exclusivity has taken a nose dive. πŸ˜„

    1. Michael Williams Avatar

      we are in the age of brute force money now lol. exclusivity will only be determined by the martial force one can muster at the entrance points

  12. Ana Daksina Avatar

    You know, if Buffet went that way there must be something to be said for it… If you do go private, brother, slap some EMP protection on that motor first thing: Faraday Defense is a good online source. Don’t want it doing the new aviation dive.

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