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MVP POST
The Lazy Travelers Handbook has a HILARIOUS post about what went down in the Delta exec suite during the latest devaluation massacre. This is VERY funny. I read it at my gym doing some cardio and almost injured myself as I had trouble standing up straight! A story that combines weed, coke and Delta Points is #priceless. Expect an email or a comment from DP asking for a backlink lol. Andy: this is some seriously funny stuff man, you should develop this side of your writing more! Steve: Please read, forget the prior disagreements between you two 🙂
TRAVEL
50 Images of New Zealand we can’t stop looking at. By Matador Network
12 Unusual Towers from Around the World. By The World Geography.
MILES/POINTS
The big news was that the American Airlines and US Air merger will go through. DansDeals had the best post on it. My take is that we are down to 3 legacy carriers and Southwest. And planes are full. It’s a new landscape. We must adapt. I think a new blog should be started focusing exclusively on cash back cards 😉 What to do? Burn burn buuuuuurn!!! I am stuck with over 1 million miles in this legacy airline now, the joke is on me. Why am I here blogging and not traveling? Hmm, good question! I have stated previously that everybody expects Delta to be the first airline to go revenue based. I am sensing that the new AA/US may be the first one to go all the way…why not just start out with a clean sheet and go through the pain of integrating both programs…This may get VERY ugly folks. Full disclosure: I have been wrong before.
View from the Wing rips (rightly) on Delta again but finds a silver lining (he usually does)…that the revenue based system is not even close. I think it is. Check out some great comments there (including yours truly). The free flowing caviar is in danger!!!
Travel is Free (certainly not now after all these devaluations lol) had another brilliant post on “Best Use of United Miles to South America“. Probably the most advanced and out of the box creative thinking in the blogosphere. So, give us a post about how you feel about the UA changes? Are you as despondent as we are? 🙂 and 🙁 #wearegoingnutsoverhere!
Saverocity wrote “Exploring Hotel Strategies – Fracking Ultimate Rewards“. Another good post with original thinking. I feel good inspiring you all to raise the bar 😉 Oh, slipping in the affiliate link at the end is fine, we understand. Check the Buzz section to see examples of how NOT to do it.
Roms Deals had a very good post that aligns with my thinking/strategy for the most part. Points and Miles Liquidity – Easiest to Hardest Points to Liquidate
View from the Wing was the first blogger to write on the changes of the Hilton Amex Surpass card. Gold status now without the spending requirement! See what competition does (I am referring to Citibank Hilton Reserve Visa). Both of these cards let you buy Hilton Diamond status for $40,000 in spend. You can also get Gold for free now if you are an AMEX Platinum card holder (which I am). I also have the free regular Hilton Amex card which I have been using for years to get free Gold status after $20k in spend. I guess I will put this one back in the drawer.
View from the Wing (again, does this guy ever sleep?) had a fantastic post dissecting the new United award chart and found some gems! For example: “You’ll be able to book Beijing – Bangkok – Sydney and back on Thai Airways in first class for 100,000 miles — 30,000 miles less than under the current award chart.”
One Mile at a Time had another excellent post “Best First and Business Class Awards (originating outside the US)“.
ON MY MIND
My Maui stay is now complete. Two nights at the Andaz for 22k Hyatt points per night and followed with 3 nights at the Fairmont Kea Lani (1 Platinum and 2 Visa complimentary nights). I now need to book 3 nights at an Oakland airport hotel ( 6 am and 8 am departures to Maui and return home!) along with the car rental. This is for Spring 2014. Getting there…Any input on Oakland airport hotels welcome.
ODDZ & ENDZ
To Veterans: Always Remembered. At Twisted Sifter.
Hilarious parody video of the last Blackberry employee having a complete meltdown. Major lol material!
BLOG BUZZ
Note: This section is intended for long time readers and miles/points addicts who follow the blogs in this space. TBB reviews blogs and tries to entertain above all. Don’t take this section too seriously or personally, it’s mostly entertainment!
If you do a post having a comparison table of fixed value bank point cards and you do not include Chase Ultimate Reward points…Really Milevalue? How can this be justified? Oh wait, no Chase links that pay. Talk about educating readers folks! I am starting to get angry. Breathe, breathe, it’s too early in the Buzz section TBB! I managed my breathing well until I found out in this blog that Barclays has Free FICO score, wow breaking news!
Frugal Travel Guy (the person), in his once a week post, tells us all about his Rudy moment at poker. Congrats I guess. Inspiring readers to greatness? TBB is anti gambling, for the record. Post had 10 comments, is that a record? Four of the comments were by “Frugal Travel Guy”. And I am accused of padding my comment numbers, exsqueeze me? First to comment was Milevalue! Oh the irony.
Extra Pack of Peanuts is selling his Frequent Flyer Bootcamp for only $349 $249 if you sign up now. No ginsu knives come with it yet. Has a video of himself telling potential buyers that he learned all about this stuff about two and a half years ago. A reader in the TBB comments made a reference to the extreme commercialization of this hobby. This is it!
Points, Miles and Martinis wrote a post about 50,000+ Credit Card sign up bonus offers. Hey, Gary and Lucky do it, why not us? Next post was about Current American Express Transfer Bonuses…Next, Starbucks and Chase Ink cards and on and on we go. I don’t see any Martinis here, I see lots of credit card links!
Ok, I thought about this and since TBB covers the Buzz in this space I just can not ignore it. Frequent Miler got a lot of grief after making a surprising post about asking for volunteers to help him for free. I have no doubt the motives were legitimate but somehow this rubbed off many loyal readers the wrong way. And, I must admit so, I can understand why! But I can see where he is coming from.
Blogging is so all consuming. I mean, I spend my day answering readers’ comments and emails and reviewing blogs lol on top of my other duties as a husband, parent and professional…heck, I don’t go to the bathroom these days without going through my Feedly RSS feeds! I have no time for seo crap, dealing with affiliate links and instructions, working on email lists, blog design and so many other endless tasks! And I am not even making any money off my site yet…which is okay for now.
So, to repent my friend, send me the best applicants who contacted you pronto 🙂 I had no doubt he will realize his mistake and updated the post retracting it. Dude, I know where you are coming from. I would pay handsomely for expert help. Never underestimate the benefits of true expert professional help! It will change of course, it will “feel” like a real business (which it always was when you went to Boarding Area) and may not be so much fun. Or, don’t change a thing…keep doing what you are doing focusing on the content and tend to the other stuff when you get to it…like me (which is almost never lol). Whatever you do, preserve the credibility! Without credibility we got nothing. Don’t lose it like so many others have lost it. #lovetakingdigsonpumperbloggersforfreelol.
Million Mile Secrets, let’s see, what was on the shelves yesterday? 50k Thank You Premier card. In a typical sell, sell, sell fashion there were a bunch of other cards for sale as well too.Next?
DansDeals very late at night unleashed a 53 credit card link post. So much blue man, my eyes socket hurt a little. To the reader who is on my back regarding DD, buzz off man, gee! You are excused once in a while but can we keep it under 20? 😉
Cream still rises, I see.
BART goes to Oakland airport. Perhaps stay in SF. Take UberX from hotel to BART.
I’ve stayed at the Hampton Inn Oakland airport. Great location for planespotting. Looks right over the runway. Good neighborhood, great walking path, free breakfast and shuttle. Have rooms with a sofabed. Amazingly quiet. Triple pane windows. Nice view of water and SF from the east bay.
I have stayed there 3 times. Granted, it’s a Hampton, but that said; I have always found this chain to be good value for the money/points, clean and a generally curteous, helpful staff. You could always do a lot worse. And as pat/Mike said, take the BART into SF for a few hours if you have the time as there is NOTHING to do in OAK 🙂 ( boy, I’m going to get flamed on that one )
I’d lay off DansDeals, 53 links or not the guy does a great job
MileValue on the other hand… that guy is just a whore. Absolutely terrible, terrible behavior.
And while I am on a rant I thought it was appalling of FM to ask for free help. He has a for-profit organization and he is essentially looking for slave labor. Another one wiped off the list of blogs whose links I will use. My god now I am just going to have to apply for Chase cards directly and let them keep the affiliate $$$s.
I retracted my post yesterday afternoon (I don’t think George makes that clear). If I had known that people would take offense, I wouldn’t have published it. I had every intention to be extremely generous to anyone who volunteered. So, please accuse me of having a poor sense of right and wrong, but not of bad intentions.
If you’re not motivated by profit, why not ask Randy for your own board on MilePoint?
I believe Greg’s intent with his blog has been to provide ideas and direction on how to generate points and miles without overtly pimping cards. You have to give him credit, he has carved out a nice little niche for himself. I may be proven wrong, but I did not get the impression he created the blog to make a living. It was more of a way to fill his days while he decided what he wanted to do next. He had severance from previous job and a wife with a pretty good job herself. However, the blog generated a following and he began to see money could be made, maybe enough to do this full time for awhile. So for now, at least, I believe profit is a major motivation. You don’t expand a business, if you expect an increase in business and profits. I’m just thankful he has stayed true to his ideas and ideals, much like TBB, and does not appear interested in heading down the same path as MMS, FTG, TPG, etc.
Most of FMs approaches have been covered in FW for a long time (“heavy hitters”). Folks get upset about MMS “stealing” info from Flyertalks. I found it strange that FM was not accused of something similar. Perhaps it is the arrows.
FW people scare me 🙂
Yeah, pics & arrows, outing deals as part of business plan, sending survey “asking” readers if the site should offer credit cards, not fessing up about author gate, gazillion links within the posts, excruciatingly boring trip reports, too many Emily pics, lately relentless cc pimping, promoting questionable things (elite card to TSA)…Steve can take it from here 😉 I have other comments to get to!
What was “author gate”? I must have missed that one.
I don’t understand your point, I’m honestly asking the question, why can’t MilePoint host the board? Why have someone waste their time/money setting up a system when your bosses have a fledgling platform. Doesn’t make sense to me.
Actually, you make a good point. They are working on a book together so maybe the subject should be approached. But then again the MilePoint just has not made any visible headway to crack FT’s numbers.
Maybe the answer is TBB comments move there to revive MP.
And that was a joke, come on!
@Ryan E: There was an “issue” who actually wrote the long posts on the Lufthansa program on the MMS site.
I appreciated your response on your blog and here. Hey we all make judgement calls in our lives, and of course it’s your business, your blog and your rules. I hope you work out a solution that is good for you and whoever works with you.
I thought your post was simply a matter of semantics. Should have asked for “interns” like Rom’s Deals. There are plenty of desperate wannabes itching to learn about pimping, er, blogging – as Rom found out (unbelievable that Rom found someone – third rate blog at best)…
I have known Greg remotely ( email, text ) since the very early days of the Blog. We are both ex Cisco guys. When he started it was with the idea to seriously find a way to generate miles with almost robotic consistency. That’s what led to the great, but short lived, 5X series. (thank you HD, you started and ended it all 🙁 ) Anyway, Greg has some great off shoots in his blog that need more attention than 1 man can give if they are going to be relevant. The ‘Lab’ comes to mind among all the other areas he mentioned. I hope he proves me wrong, but I don’t see anyone with the skills , “hobby” smarts, and time to do this for free. Doesn’t have to be a salary, maybe profit sharing, but not free . Anyway, my 2 cents worth.
Are you guys kidding about Dan’s Deals?
He rarely mentions non affiliate links and in the link fest post he mentions the regular AMEX Platinum (affiliate link), but doesn’t mention the Mercedes Benz Platinum which pays nothing, but gets you 50K instead of 25K points.
Here are 2 recent examples when he ignores the Mercedes Benz Platinum because it pays him nothing.
http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/36433
http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/36276
I think Buzz captured it pretty accurately.
MilesAbound was mostly right when he said – “I’d lay off DansDeals, 53 links or not the guy does a great job”
He does do a great job, but I don’t think that should preclude TBB from calling him out when it’s warranted (just like he should praise Dan when it’s deserved)
It was DD posts like that which knock him from being a great blog to a good blog. Excellent content, excellent forums, no censoring, actively responds to readers (and comments on this blog, good or bad). Lots of great stuff going for Dans Deals, but it gets knocked down slightly because of a few small bad things. Not unlike VFTW
For those scoring at home, Gary got his Chase filler post and Milepoint membership plugs in for today
Are you telling us you actually applied for cards using links from these card pimps? Shame on you.
I don’t think a 53 link post has to be “bad” by definition.
I feel that the post added value and so have the commenters so far.
Would it really be better off if the cards weren’t hyperlinked?
Would it really be better if I left off some bonus spend categories to keep it under 20 😀
No excuse for MV not mentioning URs, but unlike 99% of the pimp artists out there, he provides worthwhile original content.
As for ripping FM, he should have done with that wannabe Rom did – and ask for an “intern” to write more fluff pieces (shame on George praising the guy’s lame post – nothing original whatsoever)
Maybe it’s just me, but I have noticed that the best bloggers have really stepped it up lately. Notice I said ‘best’ not ‘biggest’ or ‘credit card factories ‘. Anyone agree?
While I don’t think FM’s post was the best idea, can we all agree that if this is what we’re resorting to criticizing him about, he must be a pretty damn good blogger
Greg (FM),
I know you had the best intentions and sometimes its hard to gauge how it is perceived by others. You have apologized for any misreadings into this. That should be enough and just move on with the great blogging you do. I thank you for all the ways you have helped me in getting as much points/miles as possible. For that, I am very grateful and will continue to support you by being your reader and using your links.
Glad to see Pack O’Nuts is running a Black Friday sale for his Boot Camp. I pity the fool who gives him a dime. This guy is the Billy Mays (God rest his soul, he was a hellava center fielder for the S.F. Giants too) of the points/miles blog circus.
Buzz I think you made the right choice on the Andaz for Maui. I am a big fan of the south side of the island and Wailea area. You won’t want to leave that area. It feels like you are somewhere special and on a tropical island vacation (for the rich and famous, of course) as the Kaanapali / Lahaina areas, (which are lots of fun to visit and explore) are just are too crowded and developed for refined gents like ourselves. Be sure to take Mrs. Buzz to the Wailea Shopping Village, located between your 2 hotels. She will enjoy shopping at Tiffanys, Louis Vuitton and other reasonably priced stores there. Maybe she’ll run into Oprah and Stedman or a Kardasian there…………….The only thing we could afford there was the water fountain and the Happy Hour at the Tommy Bahamas restaurant.
Agreed, Kea Lani+Andaz is just perfect for Maui.
Wailea is great.
George, thank you for your kind words. What can I say? Delta inspires, who can resist?
Funny reaction from some of Greg’s followers. He is a terrific blogger, one-of-a-kind, really, and a great person, too. Considering how GREATLY his readers have benefited from his hard work, I’m just guessing it wouldn’t kill some of them to help him out or at least refrain from giving him grief.
Some nasty, nasty comments in that thread, just couldn’t help shaking my head in disbelief. Really!
I may have layed out some history and a few personal observations, but certainly didn’t jump up and down on his head. He figured out how to exploit prepaids and gift cards. That’s a real help for us all especially when trying to meet these ridiculous spend requirements. I believe he wants to make an honest business out of this for as long as it makes since. I also thought asking for free help to expand a for profit business was wrong. I don’t see where any of that is nasty but feel free to point out where you believe I went over the top.
Mark, I’m sorry if I wasn’t clear before. I meant the comments I read in the FM thread, not here. I have no problems with you or anyone else stating their opinions. But if you’ve read comments on his site, plenty of them are as nasty as they get.
whats with the lover’s spat between MrP and Jeff?
Sad to see FM initially getting ripped so bad. I also believe it was just a matter of semantics. Even if unannounced, he would have compensated well, more than the interns would have expected.
@Sam: Thanks for the comment. Have no idea what you mean but you are still welcome to express yourself here!
@PatMile: Thanks a lot for the info. Looks like the OAK stop on the way to Maui may be a perfect fit for a ride on BART to go to SF Chinatown. I will take a look at the Hampton Inn; scared to learn it costs 65,000 HH pts per night 😉 On the way back home we have a full day so we rent a car and just drive!
@Another Mark: Thanks a lot for the OAK airport feedback too and confirming the Hampton Inn choice. And for the kind words about FM and me on your responses on the FM post. It is EXTREMELY difficult to survive in blogging without giving in to high ideals and turning into a sales machine. Just got another reminder about that in a private email with another blogger…Something really wrong with this whole industry the way it is set up now huh?
I also agree with your next comment on the same FM thread. Even further down, you made another comment about how the quality in the blogosphere has gone up lately. I have noticed an improvement too. I would like to take all the credit as they are desperately trying to earn a link on TBB Miles/Points section and avoid the beatings in the Blog Buzz section LOL
@MilesAbound: We ALL make mistakes. You learn a lot about who you are dealing with in the way people respond when they make mistakes. I think FM recognized and retracted the post and explained it his motives better. Give me 1 FM anyday in the sea of mega pumpers 😉
@Frequent Miler. I thought I made it clear with this ” I had no doubt he will realize his mistake and updated the post retracting it”. Ok, I will underline it to make it stand out more.
@Anonymous: Thanks for the feedback. If I go down this route I am definitely using the word “intern” lol. Rom’s blog is improving. I should find some time to make me an intern application/job description 🙂
@anon: I see Steve replied for me on your comment 🙂 I also called DD out at the very end of this Buzz post.
@Steve: You nailed it…again. DD and VFTW, if they could just hold themselves back a little, they could move up to the LOVE from the LIKE list. Gary has been on a creative writing fire this week, I have no idea how he can keep up this frenetic pace. I am starting to wonder if he does have a day job or is he just phucking with us lol. Reading the comments at FM and seeing praise for MMS and bad stuff to FM…was, well, kind of surreal. But I must admit I am happy to see so many standing up for quality standards and urging him to maintain the high caliber we have been used to and not succumb to the shameless pumping. I am saying all that now to get Rick to come out and say something about angries/readership/revenue/blah blah blah 🙂
@ DD: There was so much blue I turned blue 🙂 It would have been great if you had a link at the top and bottom (ok, throw some in the middle too) that led to a separate page like…the 53 link bomb. I can’t believe I am advising a blogger who has been doing it for years when this blogger has not made a dime. Quite the bizarre situation if you ask me 🙂
@ Paul: I think you captured everything about MV…omitting that is just inexcusable. Content is so biased now that I hold my nose. I am definitely going with “intern” and not volunteer now. Rom has potential, I want to praise to challenge him to improve. There is a method to my madness!
@M A: Well said, thank you.
@Ramsey: We are looking forward to the trip. Thanks for all the feedback!
@DD: Booked into a Deluxe Ocean View for 3 nights. Called hotel directly. At check in I will use my charm to try to do even better. At Plat line it is so hard to make them budge from the Visa night lowest of the low rooms. Thanks for the help 😉
@ Andy: Totally loved the post, laughed so much! I do not agree with your views on the nastiness of the comments at FM. I see it differently. Readers had such high standards for him that they felt let down by his post and just expressed themselves. Comment section are to let readers express themselves and make a connection to the bloggers (and other readers too). He no doubt GOT the message. And he did the right thing. I personally feel equally disgusted by bloggers who censor and/or only cherry pick comments that they let through. Now, to me at least, THAT is something that is up there in my $^#@# list
@Agenda Guy: I agree.
@The Common Man: I think I know what it is. I better keep it a secret #hint
“We ALL make mistakes. You learn a lot about who you are dealing with in the way people respond when they make mistakes”
Let’s compare FM’s handling of this situation with MMS handling of getting called out on the LH Mastercard/Drew Macomber incident
And….. go!
Couldn’t you come up with an even better example than the..best one you came up with? 🙂
haha why TBB why ? of ALL the devils you chose 🙁
“I have no doubt the motives were legitimate but somehow this rubbed off many loyal readers the wrong way.”
No one likes being rubbed off the wrong way.
Good point.
Proud of you for not settling with the FPC line this time 😀
I was debating just hyperlinking the first mention of each card. Maybe next time.
Either way the comment responses to the post have been extremely positive so I don’t think I have anything to be ashamed of. Not all link bombs are created equally IMHO.
Besides I’ve got 2 kids to diaper these days 😉
Maybe consider installing the @ Reply commenting plugin like DD has so that you can click on each comment to respond and then there is a link that takes you directly to view the comment you are responding to?
Some other bloggers are single or have no kids…what excuses can they come up with? I would love to see a blogger come out and just be straight with us, Hey readers, please support me because I
have a drinking/gambling/drug problem
need to make my mortgage/care/credit card(gasp) payment next month
lost my job and need to eat
am behind on college funding for my kids (I plan to use this one day lol)
got an old beat up clunker and need to get me some new wheels, safety is most important (hey, I may use this one too)
need to add to my investment portfolio for retirement (do not plan to use this one lol)
need to treat my mistress with jewelry/bags/shoes
etc etc…you get my point 🙂
I have not added a single plugin for the comments section. I like the totally wild and open nature of it. Yeah, sometimes it can get a little tough to follow. Definitely could use a volunteer, err intern I mean
Above all, TBB stands for entertainment.
Everyone, never forget it!
Hey readers, please support me. My wife needs her third operation in 7 years. Looks like she could be out of work again for a couple months.
This will be her second foot surgery. That is why she doesn’t hike with me and there are no pictures of her on the trails these past couple years.
Remember this when (if) I become a credit card affiliate pimp.
No joke here. Looks like hard times coming.
Ric:
My prayers and my thoughts are with you and your family.
I was wondering and fearing that that was the reason…
I was thinking if I ever did this myself to set up a special page and have on top a small list of bloggers who do this blogging thing right and in an honest non pumping way. If you ever did it Ric you know I will add you there…on top!
Heck, I will make a special post linking to your cc page when (and if) you decide to do it.
You have earned the highest respect from me and many others for resisting the very strong appeal of the easy money offered by the banks for so long. And you stuck to your niche and produce a quality blog. And you listen to some pretty good music too!
Hang in there buddy. Tell your wife the TBB community is pulling for her!
I predict next year a majority of people will switch to cash back. Especially after AA jacks up its prices.
Alaska devalued too…
I am going to retire!
And I predict you will be totally wrong. But I’d dearly love it if you were right. 99% of the bloggers would vanish and card pimping would dry up overnight – the only reason why so many of you have a blog (oh, sorry, you’d still do it “because you love it and want to help friends and family”). Roll eyes.
I got followed by one more… a team of bloggers coming to your computer monitor and tell us how to travel for free…u know Amazon payments, mileage run, stopovers, blah blah blah
http://www.rewardexpert dot com
Sometimes, no most times, when i read Agenda Guys comments, I say to myself “what the hell is this guy talking about”?
Me too! He should turn into a blogger.
Hey TBB, if the other bloggers didn’t ‘feed you’, there would be no reason to read TBB! 😉 😀
You only read the BLOG BUZZ section ?
@dhammer53: I still count on you to click the %(&)* out of my links as you promised…when I get them 😉 So I wonder how many will still read TBB if I did not have the Blog Buzz section…Maybe I should experiment to see what happens…
@ABC: I hope dhammer53 did not mean it that way…I hope so anyway
As long as there is Buzz about something. I log in to hear your rants and rant in turn 🙂
It’s nice that FTG’s (the site, not the angry) latest travel challenge actually is very challenging
Except that the reason it’s challenging is because you haven’t been able to book LH tickets with dividend miles for several months now
Great job “FTG staff!” (why is whoever wrote that article afraid to tie their name to this series?)
Absolutely ludicrous/pathetic/misleading as always. Notice how they “slide” the crappy US air offer.And check out the FTG Facebook page where our buddy is on “sell,sell,sell” mode trying to get a newbie to email him after he asked a totally newbie question. So helpful always, $$$$ has absolutely nothing to do with it. Hey buddy, I know you read me every day, we thought you are out of the game huh?
Funny how you wanted me to follow up with MV’s blog about these “tactics”, you love it when we criticize your competitors only?
I know this is suicidal for my site but, gosh darn it, LOVE getting the truth out 🙂
So how come it isn’t “ludicrous/pathetic/misleading” when your buddy Dan’s Deals always mentions the regular AMEX Platinum (affiliate link), but doesn’t mention the Mercedes Benz Platinum which pays nothing, but gets you 50K instead of 25K points?
Here are 2 recent examples when he ignores the Mercedes Benz Platinum because it pays him nothing.
http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/36433
http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/36276
How can you claim to be a “watchdog” to be like consumer reports and to be like Siskel, when you tacitly acknowledge your pal short selling readers to the tune of 25K MR points just because he makes a few extra bucks?
Dan, can you please respond?
I see DD’s other work and I see FTG’s work and…
Thank you for your contributions 😉
I’ve had success churning the regular plat card using some methods I’ve discussed on DDF which makes it more valuable…then again I’ve churned through most cards that others say aren’t possible so to each their own. Less publicity is better in this game.
Thanks for taking the time to respond here Dan.
Sorry, TBB, but that is not really a response to what Anti was talking about.
(So we find that Dan he churns the crappier Amex –Does he imply the MB Amex can’t be churned? –but then doesn’t make it clear how it is worth doing that versus a MB Amex. I suspect it has to do with the 2x$200 airplane refund but I dare not wade through the muck in the forum to find his “half-answers”. I’m not knocking his cagey-ness because it *is* a way to keep things going. An full response to Anti would be nice to see here, however.)
Half-answers are what keeps things alive. Things that have been allegedly dead for 6 years according to FTers and bloggers still work fine with some effort.
I don’t do arrows, bells, whistles, or tell-alls. The best I’ll do is in a live seminar and even then I’m going to be cagey with regard to some topics.
People that wade through the muck are rewarded, those that don’t, aren’t. And I think that’s now only how it ought to be but how it has to be for things to survive.
Cheers.
Gary from VFTW has a story about Matt Lauer and an airplane lavatory. So do I, but mine is waaaaay much better from my days at TWA. I will let you use your imagination here. It took place on a flt I was working from FMY (Fort Meyers) to LGA. Matt (I don’t know if he was married at the time) was returning from Florida where he was looking into buying a landscape or nursery business. This was a time before he got to Today Show gig and it was looking like his TV career was kaput. The F/A I was working with, worked the flight he took down to FMY and she traded into the Flt for his return. She was determined to hook up with him. He was seated in coach ( I told you his career was on the skids at the time) and she kept coming up to F/C to get free drinks for him. Buzz you can fill in the rest from here…………..let you imagination run wild and it won’t be enough.
Just remembered I have a somewhat similar story about Marvin Hamlisch and a totally hot looking F/A. 30 years ago maybe,LAX-JFK red eye, yes he is ugly but wealthy and famous.
Love your F/A stories!
I saw Jackass last night. And I laughed…a lot! Glad I did not take Mrs. TBB with me lol.
For all the talk about bloggers not being influential (compared to Flyertalk) and not “killing deals”, check out Matthew’s latest post on booking LH F with US DM. Turns out the agents have received a memo not to long sell tickets with a specific reference being made to that blog post.
Just like to point out that trying to troll by using homophobic names is unpleasant, that is not moderated out is also disappointing. I see such things equally with racism and think it is not proper behavior. Due to the nature of this site it is likely written by a grown adult, which makes it even more sad to see.
George, your desire to be seen as a non moderator of comments is seen by me as tacit endorsement of such comments/commentors being acceptable behavior. I would ask that you re-evaluate your policy.
patience young grasshopper
I replied to Matt by private email. I say do NOT feed the trolls. We agree to disagree.
In the meantime I spammed a comment revealing my personal identity. If you can’t sleep wondering who this TBB guy is, please email me.
I tweeted this:
I deleted a comment on my site revealing my identity. Some people got way too much time on their hands and can not take any criticism at all
You are worried about “revealing” your own personal identity, but do not censor comments that are blatantly anti-gay. #twofaced #dissapointing Your censoring policy just became the laughing stock. You should be featured in your next blog buzz
Oops, clicked the wrong Reply button. A response to this is below. Thanks for letting me hear it.
Thanks for all the feedback guys. My blog will go on despite the haters!
Any feedback is precious, emphasis on “Any”
Sadly, of course it will go on. You’ve got an “intern” for more filler fluff pieces to enthrall your readers….anything to keep the trickle of pimped affiliate $$$$ coming in the door, eh?
deleting comments.
being accused of double standards.
Seems George has lost his credibility with some readers? Sounds like the same thing he has been accusing others of.
Now TBB is just a pot calling the kettle black. The circle is now complete . A comment deleting, inferior link supporting blogger.
Congrats Georgie boy. Your sanctimonious run is DONE
Readers: Follow the pattern!
I feel a tell all blog coming soon…
I will let my readers decide about credibility.
Bullying by wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullying
Pray do tell all, I mean why not?
But unfortunately I agree on the double standards. You can try politicizing your way out of that one all you want
Ok, here is what I sent to Matt:
__________________
do not feed them. you reply and they feed on that, dont’ give them the honor.
People know where I stand. People making these types of comments look like an as*.
So please do not feed the trolls, come on!
You commenting on this on the same page is feeding them. These idiots feed on this crap. Please do not do it. They will go away. Based on site traffic and my style I am amazed more of these do not hang around TBB. I do not want to create a problem when there is none.
Once I start moderating there is no end in sight….a slippery slope.
I feel strongly about this and I feel strongly about ignoring these idiots. 1 or 2 comments by the same teenager phuck in a post with 50 plus comments in SO many days of blogging is NOTHING. Don’t get hung up on that please.
If it becomes a problem I know what to do. Silence is the best medicine for trolls.
_______________
____________________
But apparently someone deliberately made me delete another comment. So I get your point, now it DOES appear as a double standard. And I believe this whole chain has been intentional.
I have always been a huge supporter of equality for all. I consider the LGBT community my dear friends. I think you have fallen in the trap…Some are laughing right now that I got some anti TBB comments.
Thanks for the feedback, I heard you.
——————
King Pimp dare criticizes others about their ethics? What chutzpah!
Sounds like more and more have already made their minds up 🙂 from past experience, that trend will continue.
>>>>>….that trend will continue.
I am sure it will from past experience!
Should I publish in my tell all blog post your emails about slanderous comments on TBB and your willingness to have the helpful IB legal staff to look into the matter? Or the other explicit emails from your lieutenant?
You are trying to make me stop criticizing your corporate blog…it has been going on for a long time now. You are costing the fine folks at FTG (the blog) and IB MONEY.
Why are you so bored every day? If you stopped this pattern I may be more inclined to take your advice to change direction. I am starting to get bored by it but seeing your reactions each time we say something about FTG you do not approve of….you go nuts!
For FTG readers’ sake, get someone more qualified to do the “Travel Challenges”. It is about them right…or is it about the conversions/revenue huh?
Open house at my local Whole Foods,time for some free food!
Please do.
Don’t know what or who you mean by lieutenant. As far as publishing our private emails, what the heck George. A man of your credibility (or lack thereof) would do that. I never have but, like you say, we are very different.
And I’m surprised you didn’t take me up on getting both of us some free legal advice on our liability as bloggers for allowing, mistruths and false quotes on our blogs. Heck I thought it better to do that in private, but ok buddy.
As far as your opinion about me being nuts, I’ve never gone nuts over your comics George. Tame your ego. You are just not that important. It does seem like others are starting to see through your charade though? Comment deleting, minimizing your criticism of some blogs offering inferior links and hammering others? Why Siskel and Ebert would never do that. And they were never even afraid to use their last names 🙂
It was an implied threat. Getting a little tired being on the receiving end of this buddy.
Take you up on your offer to get free legal advice from the IB Legal Dept? Have them draft a letter if you are so willing to help me out! smh Since you have been blogging so much longer than me just tell me explicitly and end this charade here nitpicking over quotes in a blog that has been an utter failure (based on your standards, NO revenue!) that you appear to be obsessed with since you spend so much time here!
I will let others judge who is going nuts and about credibility.
What ego? Please learn about confirmation bias.
I deleted one comment. And I was accused of being horrible because I let one idiot’s comment stand. Good job, you appear so happy about this.
And please eat pizza with your grandson and stop checking my site!
I repeat: Your conduct here is COSTING IB money.
Check Lucky’s post today about the best credit cards. This is HOW FTG should handle the US Air card offer. But it is all about revenue right and not always putting the reader first?
Rick is a joke. His blog is terrible and he can’t let it be. He should be enjoying his money but a part of him feels guilty for it. He feels like he doesn’t really deserve it. That’s the reason he gets so upset at someone actually pointing things out. Life is too short, especially at his advanced age, to spend time on things like he does. Sadly, his insecurity and inability to deal with his ugly temper keep him from letting go. In addition, he knows he’s one of the least knowledgeable bloggers out there but still made more money than most. Hey Rick, you’re not a man of the people anymore. You’re an angry rich guy now. It’s ugly to see.
Regarding the frivolous legal threats against TBB, that should come as no surprise.
Remember Rick’s threats against United because they didn’t let him fly in a premium cabin to Asia for 4 miles because of “age discriminiation”?
Nobody acts more entitled than he does. Who is George and Seth to criticize him? Who is United to not give him free trips in first class? Don’t they know who he is? He’s Rick Ingersoll!
And that sense of entitlement as well a horrific ability to defend himself leads to his rants anywhere he’s criticized (whether it’s TBB, FT, WA or wherever). That’s where the “yeah, well I have lots of money” or “more people read my blog, therefore it’s better” rants come into play
So we are back to it again George. One of your readers is misquoting me again. Are you credible enough to remove the quotation marks again? Or is your favoriticism going to allow them to stay this time? #tobecontinued
Quotations don’t always mean they are being attributed to someone. Or haven’t you figured that out??
FWIW, I often put “quotes” to “highlight something”, because there is rarely any way of easily calling attention to something on these chat boards. That someone may be talking about you and then put something in “quotes” doesn’t necessarily mean (to me) that they are directly quoting you. Now, the NYT may be held to such journalistic/legal standards, but surely not quotes on a “inconsequential” blog ripping you for your “ethics”…
“Gracias” 🙂
Seriously, I mean it.
And thank you for your opinion. I’m sure it was written in a very calm professional manner 🙂 Just two observations:
1. I am not rich.
2. We’ll let others decide what your temperament was while writing that comment 🙂 I’m not angry at all.
@Ingy,
I spent some time with my family at the newly renovated Westin on Hilton Head. Beautiful property, nice beach and area. I’ld consider you rich. You’re retired in a nice area close to the beach. Many would love to do that. Go for a long walk, enjoy the beautiful beach. Or play some golf. At some point in life, money plays a minimal part in determining life’s richness.
We love it here and glad you enjoyed yourself on hhi. You are right about richness in life. I’m having pizza with my grandson at the mall. That’s what it is all about 🙂
Ingy, all the others have already decided. Nobody respects you. You’re an irrational old grouch who tries to bully people as if you have some real power. And it’s well known in our circle how much you made from the blog sale. You’re rich.
Ingy said “I am not rich.”
You opened the door, man. How many millions of dollars did you make on credit card commissions and the sale of your blog to Internet Brands?
You want us to believe you are not rich, just a regular guy, but I bet you will not answer this.
Of course I will answer this. I am subject to an NDA. I can’t answer. You lose the bet
Not angry? Go back and read your comments. Veiled and not-so-veiled threats about getting lawyers involved. That’s someone who is seething inside and has paper thin skin.
Bully people? Where is that coming from? Is it bullying to stand up for what you believe in? Is it bullying to call people on their bs? I think not. You all feel free to criticize others but seem to have a hard time when people stand up to you. Watch what happens. There will be more and more standing up against the negativity, double standards and ripping others over miles and points.
I’m predicting George’s time suck will get more combative as time goes on.
And on that note, let’s have some fun:
Comments. Comments. Get your comments here 🙂
>>>>>>>>>>> Watch what happens. There will be more and more standing up against the negativity, double standards and ripping others over miles and points.
>>>>>>>>>> I’m predicting George’s time suck will get more combative as time goes on.
Dear readers, my friend here knows how busy I am and is determined to spend all day making a complete fool of himself calling me on my BS and standing up to us mosquitos to get me to give up blogging…This from the same guy who said he does not want to interact with any mosquitos and was going to pop in here whenever he is bored. Can I get a thank you for keeping you busy during your golden years at least?
>>>>>>>>>Comments. Comments. Get your comments here
We all know you are jealous how many comments TBB blog gets.
Did you finish all the pizza? I love pizza!
This epic rant from Mile Nerd comes to mind, always a fun read!
http://www.milenerd.com/2013/03/why-everyone-sucks.html
George, let me be very clear again for you and all of your readers. I like your blog. I like the photos, your wit and humor and your references to great blog posts are extremely worthwhile.
What I object to and have from day one, is your criticism of others, and with your lack of censoring that leads to the angries piling on without any consideration for the feelings of others. You are not the Jello Sheriff of travel hacking. Nobody is.
In fact George, I would someday be proud to link to your blog, when you let the slashing of others go. You have lots of positives to offer.
Thank you for the kind words but…
And I am repeating myself to death here as you continue to NOT get where I am coming from and you continue to hear what YOU want to hear…One more time:
I did not start this blog to make money. If the money comes so be it. With my prior conduct and the way I prioritize things I think it is obvious that I am not looking to aggressively promote my site to make some bucks.
The hobby is no longer a hobby. It is NO LONGER about miles and points as you continue to portray it. Actually it was the sale of your blog that I consider the beginning of the end of my dear hobby that opened the floodgates of numerous salesmen selling something they do not have (expertise) pretending to be doing it to help “friends and family”. The space had grown so much I felt it was time for a blog with a niche that had not been filled.
An INDEPENDENT source run by someone who knows some things about the hobby (always learning every day) and willing to go through the numerous blogs (have been doing it anyways, I am addicted to this, no cure!) and find the true gems to feature along with my (sometimes entertaining) commentary. Add value to readers from my veteran perspective to focus on the reads that are truly worthwhile along with some of my own perspective.
In addition, I felt compelled to also call out the blogs that, IN MY OWN OPINION, do not represent what I (AGAIN) judge to be good blogging practices/quality content/bias/pumping frequency/and several other factors. As I call out the good it will be hypocritical to shut up. I am thinking of doing that actually AFTER I publish my “Blogs to Avoid or Ignore” list, not sure…because I am tired 🙂 If I can introduce one reader to a blog in my LOVE and LIKE lists and/or get a reader away from the bad list I feel like I have contributed positively to my dear hobby. Based on feedback in the blog and in private I have succeeded in this and you will NOT believe how happy this makes me, it is truly priceless!
I realize full well the damage that does to my blog’s commercial appeal and I am fine with it. For over a year I have been laboring in this blog to provide an entertaining and quality product selling nothing. I like to believe my blog has brought some positive change (and I consider calling out bloggers, if they change, a positive change). If not, at least I have brought an awareness that this has nothing to do with a hobby anymore, it is all about the money selling credit cards to everyone who can apply (lots of Americans lol) and keep selling till the cows come home. I despise it and find it disgusting.
Please take some lessons from Mommy Points on how to respond to criticism, you obviously have an unbelievably hard time with it. Your conduct here is HARMING FTG and the folks behind it (and you know I like them). I have repeatedly said not to take anything personally here and you go off again and again EVERY time FTG ( a blog you repeatedly say you have nothing to do with but somehow you are still all over it) is mentioned. I have also said you are free to improve your blog. At its present state, in my own opinion, it is bad. Cherish the criticism and learn from it, I wouldn’t give it to you if I didn’t care! I know how much you think of me…I just said that to get readers to laugh about it as you are probably fuming 🙂
I told you FTG was my favorite blog back in the day (not much competition, it was all good hacking stuff that stayed alive way longer than it does these days!). It went downhill when you smelled the money. I think the damage has been mortal but Ariana is at least making some small improvements (I always find it curious she reserves her good posts for her own Pointchaser blog). I do not like the Travel Challenge feature, I think it is a lazy feature designed to pump more cards. All the other writers, it feels, like they all drink the IB coolaid or something and their posts are not as good as they can be. Drew is the best and you can tell he is struggling to make his material suitable to newbies. Andy is a good writer, please get him to write pieces like the Delta parody one (heck, I would link FTG to that! — oh wait a minute, it may reduce the number of Delta card conversions!). Christine is a sweetheart and you know it; if she can add some pictures to her posts, make them just a little longer and make them more personal they can be really good. Howie’s stuff is decent. And for god’s sake stop the Travel Challenge or get some one really qualified to do that!
Jello Sheriff, self-appointed by me in my own blog 🙂
That was a great read TBB.
This feud reminds of Jon Stewart versus Bill O’Reilly.
I agree with AgendaGuy. Good summary!
Thanks. I reread it too and it is pretty good I must say. So I pasted into the new Buzz post, why not?
I’d like to be O’Reilly please
Great response George. Let me correct several issues.
1. You pimped your site all over FT when you started.
2. The hobby still is the hobby. We just just have people earning a living off the hobby. Randy was the first. It is the American way. Get over it.
3. You missed the downfall date by about 4 months. It happened in October before my sale when the floodgates opened on boarding area and all the bloggers were approved based, not on content, but on the fact that they belonged to BA that had the numbers in aggregate to support giving them links. That practice still goes on today as recently substantiated by a blogger that just got links.
4. You certainly have the right to publish a blog and I enjoy your “good list” of posts.
5. We clearly disagree on calling out the bad blogs. I would just ignore them. That is our big difference George.
6. Give people credit George. Let the marketplace take care of itself. The bad blogs will fail. The good ones will stay. Your considered opinion is not changing a thing. Reinforce the positive George. Suggest people look at good blogs and you are doing our hobby a service.
7. Nobody cares about the commercial appeal of your blog George but you. If you don’t want it commercial, good for you. We all know your negativity and slamming others has ruined that possibility, so just live with it. You made the choice, quit bringing it up in defense of your practices.
8. We all have our styles George. Mine is a lot like yours. When I see something I don’t like, I say it. I’m not gonna sugarcoat my reply in your blog just because others do. Mommy has her style. I have mine.
9. The monthly readership of FTG is 2.5 times what it was when I sold he blog George. That is a long way from your opinion of the mortality of the blog George. You are flat out incorrect. The focus may not match what I would have done with the blog had I kept it, but that matters not. I sold it four months after the floodgate of new experts showed up on purpose. I like you, saw what was on the horizon and decided not to participate. Does hat make me a money grubbing, always looking for the buck capitalist? You are entitled to your own opinion George. I got out while the gettin was good.
so here we stand George. I expect further comments by your readers and you to be a continual slamming of me. It is easier to criticize than find the good.
I loved this hobby as well. It took me to seventy countries and many great adventures I never could have afforded otherwise. I miss the old FT as you do. I miss the days of congenial assistance to others. I’m sad that commercialism has stepped in to our hobby, but I think the negativity is a much worse cancer on our hobby. I have tried and will continue to try to promote the good and ignore the bad in our hobby. And that George is where we differ. If you continue to call out the negative, I will continue to ask you to stop.
Peace my friend
1. Pimping should go hand in hand when you are selling something. I am not selling anything. BIG difference!
2. No it is not. You missed my main point. Again.
3. I disagree. But I see your point
4. Ok
5. We disagree. Newbies need to be guided to the good blogs and away from the bad blogs because, you know, they don’t know any better! Most don’t even know how much bloggers get paid for being “helpful” 😉
6. I always gave credit where it was deserved, always in my own opinion. You just always focused on the negative. I think you would not be so vocal about it if FTG (the blog) was not a part of it. Just my opinion.
7. I am trying to prove that quality should matter more than pimping. Maybe you are right. I like impossible goals. I am not greedy to compromise. I always followed the motto “Enjoy the journey”
8. But we all thought you were raised with “if you have nothing positive to say, don’t say anything)…I guess not. I love how MP handles criticism, LOVE it. You should learn from it.
9. I can care less about your monthly readership, FTG (the blog) still sucks (but improving very slowly)…in my own opinion. You think of my blog as tabloid stuff and I respect your opinion and your right to be vocal about it in MY blog (which is ironic in itself). We differ on a lot. Please listen to what is said here, we are not all a bunch of angry mosquitoes. If we are, you sure like to hang around mosquitoes a lot 🙂
Thank you for taking the time to participate in the TBB community…
Jon Steward DEFINITELY!
It’s the criticism of others (like you) who make this blog what it is. There are a zillion blogs that show pics/vids of “interesting” things. But nary a one who rips all the affiliate pimp artists.
If George gave up this part of the blog, it would be a snoozer like 99.999% of all the others. Instead, George gets dozens of posts per day – while some “big” sites can’t get that in a week – because their craven pimping has driven away anyone with more than a few brain cells…
Oh man…hope it is not a snoozer! I keep going…for now!
What exactly is it you stand for, Rick? Also, you keep waiting for “others” to come to your support here? In your twisted perception do you not see how people here feel about you? These are not the tv viewers who know nothing and think your terrible blog is cool.
I always wondered about people like you who can’t see how they come across to others. Most of us, if we’d constantly get into these confrontations with people, we’d question ourselves. We’d think maybe it has something to do with us. Most of us would take a look in the mirror. But not Ingy. This guy doesn’t understand why he’s a bully and will even argue the fact that he’s rich. You did a very rare thing. You made a pile of money from your blog without having any real skill as a writer. You came in at the right time and were very fortunate. But instead of taking your ball and going home, you seem determined to make yourself look foolish.
I know exactly how people here feel about me, and it bothers me not one bit. As everywhere else I go or interact with others my relationships are strong, warm and friendly. So maybe, just maybe it is the people here that need to look in the mirror at how they treat others.
George could have a great blog if he wanted. But it seems he, and consequently his uncensored followers, feel it is necessary to criticize others. His blog would soar if he dumped his blog buzz critiques and negativity.
It is all that plain and simple. Say all you want about me. I don’t care. And if I dish a little back at George, he is a big boy. He seems to take it fairly well. Well, some of the time anyway.
You know, he could always censor me? But without controversy, his comments would fall off and he’d nothing to feed his ego and no way to relieve his stress. Those therapy bills can get expensive.
@ Anonymous: Thanks a lot for the assist, much appreciated.
@ Ingy: LISTEN to what WE are saying. It is not TOO late to change. Maybe, just maybe, it is YOU who has it backwards?
>>>>>>>>>>>>George could have a great blog if he wanted.
Thank you for your thought. I like my blog. More than friends and family appear to like it too!
>>>>>>>>>>>>But it seems he, and consequently his uncensored followers, feel it is necessary to criticize others.
We criticize businesses and business practices. All businesses do it. Get over it. It is NOT about YOU!
>>>>>>>>>>>>His blog would soar if he dumped his blog buzz critiques and negativity.
Listen pal. It would soar based on YOUR criteria. They do not correspond with mine. I could easily make my friend commercial friendly a long time ago but then how would I soar to high five myself when I look at myself in the mirror (joking…a little).
>>>>>>>>>>>>t is all that plain and simple.
It usually is not…
>>>>>>>>>>>>Say all you want about me. I don’t care.
It is NOT about YOU.
>>>>>>>>>>>>And if I dish a little back at George, he is a big boy. Well, some of the time anyway.
You know I like it. Blog’s mission is To Entertain. Thank YOU! Aren’t you going to also thank me for making your retirement so full of excitement?…I mean, my blog can’t be that boring as you are here so much!
>>>>>>>>>>>>But without controversy, his comments would fall off and he’d nothing to feed his ego and no way to relieve his stress.
Thank you for the controversy and all you do for the commercial success of my blog wink.
What ego?
You are right about the stress relief!
>>>>>>>>>>>>Those therapy bills can get expensive.
My therapist says spending time blogging or in blogs is therapeutic and it leads to LESS therapy bills. I think you can use one yourself but you probably can’t because you are not rich lol
See you again I am sure at the next Travel Challenge? 😉
You are delusional.
The reason George has such a vocal/loyal following is exactly because he rips on those who so richly deserve it (like you).
It’s about time pimps are taken down off their high horse by someone willing to tell it like it is. Right now, the sector is full of glad-handing charlatan pimp artists saying/doing anything to keep the affiliate $$$ rolling in.
Wait, so every one of us who always get along are should look at ourselves? But the one person we have an issue with is because of us not him? This seriously sounds like delusional rambling.
Are you angry? Or even better….are you an angry mosquito? 🙂
I sometimes when I catch up on blogs on my Feedly list on my phone waiting around for one of my kids after school activities I pull up TBB and read the comments and just entertain myself!
Ok, time to work on the next Buzz post.
Thank you for taking the time to comment.
TBB, you got one thing right – Ingy is costing IB money
I’m willing to bet I’m not the only one here who has been spending a lot less time at FT lately because it’s far more interesting to watch Ingy make a fool of himself right over here
On the other hand, traffic at FTG (the site, not the hypocrite) is probably skyrocketing on all days except Monday’s
Do we really know if the businesses are really soaring. I do get that the credit card pimps are after all the newbies, but the market is now much more aware of the pimping being shoved down everyone’s throats than say at this point in time last year, or even before. We are simply going by what someone is claiming, most likely to discourage criticism of any kind that could impact revenues. This is why some bloggers are fighting back, pure and simple. If it were good blogs we would be all over them, like them, learn from them, praise them.
Instead the blogosphere has been taken over by endless commercials with cheats and hacks claiming to help friends, family and others travel for free. Lets get ready to see what they are selling tomorrow.
To any newbies who are discovering TBB everyday, please ensure you support the good guys.
Never underestimate how many people have NO clue about this stuff. In the financial blogger conference I went there were close to 500 attendees. Only 11 (including me!) were present in the presentation about credit card travel rewards (by Noob Traveler). Of the audience three had a decent clue (or so they thought). The rest were lost. That WAS shocking to me considering these were supposedly sharper people.
No doubt the market is more aware and hopefully TBB is contributing in adding to the awareness!
At the end of the day we just don’t know as we can not have the real numbers.
TBB is all about praising the good blogs and “exposing the blogosphere [that] has been taken over by endless commercials with cheats and hacks claiming to help friends, family and others travel for free.”
Call me Jello Sheriff
but I do prefer Siskel 🙂
So you did end up going Andaz! I thought the UR points were too valuable… Can you elaborate on how you got the higher class room using the visa free nights. If I have the ones the “cops” at the presidents club booked me would you recommend contacting the hotel directly and seeing what if anything they will do for me, or just scrap that and start over?
Yeah I ended up going Andaz as the Hilton required a totally ridiculous number of HH points.
I called the hotel directly. Much more friendly than the “cops” who I believe have been highly trained to give the absolute lowest category room for the Visa nights EVERY time, no exceptions!
I paid for a night and tacked on the two Visa nights. So I paid for a Partial Oceanview and got double suite upgrade to Deluxe Ocean View. When my complimentary Platinum night is credited to my FPC account in late February I cancel my “paid” night for a full refund and replace it with my Plat night. I worked it the same way at Lake Louise, worked like a charm. Just make sure you follow the cancellation deadlines. No more calling the FPC line, call the hotel directly. Dan of DansDeals really drilled this lesson to me. I am slow but I got it eventually. Hope this helps!
Thanks I will try that for future Fairmont reservations, I will even see if they will help me out on this one as I also have a paid night on the end of it. I’ve learned it never hurts to ask, my Fairmont Visa is covering my cracked iPhone 5s screen because I called and asked if this was covered since it was so new. They sent me some forms and its a little work but stated its a covered event. I hope the claim works out and they cover the cost!
Get the paid night as the FIRST night if you can if you like what you got…as they will very likely not move you for sure for the next 2 nights 😉
Good luck. Can’t wait to get out of Dodge 🙂