Good morning everyone, I just had a lovely breakfast at the Renaissance ClubSport Walnut Creek Hotel (a version of the Marriott Renaissance collection that has a huge focus on exercise and fitness). I have relatives in town, so I checked them into their room last night and got them free breakfast, compliments of my Ritz-Carlton account (Gold Elite Status).
That brings me to my next point. Since I have relatives in town, I have decided to reschedule the SF Meetup that was originally supposed to be held tomorrow afternoon in San Francisco. I have moved the meetup to Saturday, March 14. Why so long? Let me explain…
Next weekend (February 28 – March 1), I will be speaking at the OC TravelCon travel conference, held in Anaheim, CA (right next to Disneyland). Tickets are still available for this one day event here. This is a very MS-focused conference, but I still have to figure out what I will present. I went from Chime Card, to PayPal My Cash Cards, to Evolve Money, but those seem to be partially dead at the moment, so I decided to discuss credit card retention offers and reconsideration strategies (2 of my favorite topics). After the conference concludes on Saturday afternoon, I will stick around the hotel and figure out a meetup restaurant. I will provide more details next week.
The following weekend (March 7-8), I will be in San Diego for FTU Advanced. Since this event is only advanced (not a beginner/advanced hybrid event), the topics and discussions should be more advanced. For Saturday night dinner, I was told about a great Taco restaurant called Tacos El Gordo De Tijuana (Yelp) in Chula Vista, which is only a 15 mile drive away (see comment). I’m really interested in checking out and maybe will organize a meetup down there. Details coming in 2 weeks.
Last but not least, the next SF Meetup will be held Saturday, March 14. We will meet for lunch from 12-2pm, but the location is TBD. I have received a few recommendations for restaurants, but I will need to decide which restaurant is the winner. Stay tuned for more updates.
I gotta go, I’m taking my aunt and grandparents up to Napa for wine tasting today. #toughlife #somebodyhastodoit
If you have any questions, please leave a comment below. Have a great day everyone!
Noooo!!! I’ll be in Mexico then… Well, we’re neighbors so maybe I’ll just email you to grab coffee one day. You live in WC and work in SF?
Yes, I commute to SF on BART from WC.
Hi
I received an offer thru delta skymiles shopping for 20.00 off 100.00 purchase at office depot.
Will this work with giftcards?
thanks
If it is online, then probably not. What do the terms and conditions say?
Grant!!!! So excited you’re going to set a meetup at Tacos El Gordo!! I’m on call that weekend otherwise I literally would have driven down there from Irvine just to buy you some tacos!! (and finally meet you while getting my taco fix as well …. )
EVERYONE GO — THE COMPANY (GRANT AND CO.) AND THE FOOD WILL BOTH BE AMAZING!!!!!!!!
Thanks Alex, it would be great to see you there if you can make it down for the day.
Kind of flaky for last minute cancel.
Sorry Dave, I promise the make-up meetup will be worth the wait. Have a great weekend!
It’s no problem at all! Don’t be sorry. :) Things happen, just like how we have to be flexible to play this game, so we should be flexible when our favorite bloggers need to reschedule.
Besides, it’ll be PI DAY!!!
Hehe 3/14, you’re right.
Thanks for understanding, Star. Have a great weekend.
See you in San Diego…thanks for planning the meet-up. I look forward to Tacos El Gordo.
You’re welcome Jeff. I’ll see you down there. I just need to figure out the driving situation. Probably share a few Ubers :)
Grant, Tacos el Gordo is the best “Authentic” Mexican in SD. The original location is actually in TJ, and the difference is minimal – aside from the fact that the FDA actually exists in the US. You just might want to call them and ask them how the crowd is when you’re planning on the meetup. It gets extremely crowded there during lunchtime. I don’t know what it wi be like on a saturday night, but it can be hard to find a booth for 4 people during any given lunch day. And the place is pretty big for a taco shop.
Good to know, Mike. Hopefully we get lucky and can find a place to sit.
There are a lot of booths inside that seat about 4-6 (6 if you squeeze). There are 3 tables outside in front that are right next to each other that seat 12 in total (that’s where we sat for lunch last time I was there with 12 ppl ..).. One option is to have some ppl hold the tables while others get food. I’ve never had a problem sitting down and I’ve most often gone during weekends.
We will make it work. Thanks for all the info, Alex. Looking forward to trying the tacos and fries :)
Grant — H street location unfortunately does not have fries ( but it is their original and bigger location…)
The one on Palm Ave does fries (it is about 10 mins further south …). it is a little smaller restaurant (think Taco Bell sized ) ….. but also less busy.
http://www.tacoselgordobc.com/
689 H STREET
CHULA VISTA, CA 91910
– bigger and original location. overall busier.
3265 PALM AVENUE
SAN DEIGO, CA 92154
– smaller location, but less busy. has fries.
Both are fantastic.
Thanks Alex, I think I will go to the Chula Vista location since it is closer and larger. I’ll have to come back and try the fries.
Hi Grant
If I have a personal amex gold premier rewards card,am I eligible for targeted offer 75,000
membership reward points for amex premier gold Business card too? thanks.
Yes, you can have a personal and business version of the PRG credit card. Nice targeted sign up offer!
For San Diego FTU, my plans have changed and have an extra ticket, If anyone is interested, email me at rajiv1 at gmail. The price if $249 and I will cover the transfer fee.
Grant, what time is the meetup on Saturday? Still planning on Tacos el Gordo on H Street?
Yes, Tacos el Gordo on Saturday night is the plan. Depending on what time the conference is over, we might leave the host hotel (Hyatt Regency) between 6-7pm.
Awesome. Let me know when you have it dialed in. Wasn’t able to get a ticket to FTU unfortunately, but would be great to meetup.
There will be plenty of tickets available to FTU San Diego. Check FT and MP this week.
I would like a ticket for SD-FTU. Does anybody have one? I enjoyed the OC Travel Con very much and hope to be able to attend.
I have one. Email me at (email removed) and we can work out the payment arrangements
I sent you and Rajiv an email. Let me know if you need any help. Have a great day!