As a child of the nineties I will readily admit that there is a direct correlation to the American Express advertising campaign with Jerry Seinfeld and the reason I have one today. Fast forward another few years and another great ad cycle in a new format that added even more humor from Mastercard, mint. Add in the fact that I have worked for Discover Card in the past and you’ve got the ABC’s of me, with credit cards at least. Visa is too ubiquitous to merit comment, enjoy your place at the top.

Of course I didn’t understand anything about the comedy of Seinfeld when I saw the ads, most likely from watching golf with my dad on Sundays, but I got the joke. The gas station commercial where he does a, ‘perfect pump’ to $20.00 even, eyes the obsolete, (except in Oregon apparently) gas station attendant and then intentionally pumps more is a masterpiece. As the attendant opens his palm for the change, Jerry reaches into his jacket pocket and pays at the pump with his glowing green Amex.

The value of anything is relative, but that kind of mindshare you cannot buy. I recently found out that I crossed paths with another force in the universe that some could say money cannot buy: Taylor Swift in Cincinnati. I’m sure there’s a Cincinnati post coming, as I have thoughts, but I digress. The Ticketmaster fiasco was horrible, and as a music lover I am compassionate. However, that may not be reflected in my experience with the crown jewel of Appalachia this weekend, and with Taylor also being there.

She sold out the NFL stadium twice, with the lowest priced tickets on the secondary market being over $1700.00 when I looked today. That’s not what has me bothered, it’s that it made everything else in this ill equipped pseudo-metropolis worse for the weekend. Finding a hotel deal was a like pulling teeth from a shark, and even though our events aren’t close to each other, (8.7 Miles) it made it a headache. I just want to be Fearless and express that it was not the Love Story I had planned for our weekend together, although through her lyrics I have come to know I wouldn’t be the first to have that experience.

Anyway, my Mastercard commercial goes like this:

Two nights in an overpriced hotel in a city you loathe: $425
Gas to drive your Prius past the, ‘Hell is Real’ sign and get a belly laugh: $19.52
The beer your girlfriend didn’t want, but, ‘this is your birthday present…so, sure.’: $13
Concert tickets to see your favorite artist play a better show than Taylor Swift is simultaneously: Priceless.