We show how it is giving up on Hyatt Diamond, how money changes people, how the hobby is dying, reselling warnings and so much more!
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Giving up on Hyatt Diamond Status. #overrated
Hilton wants to change your mind about airport hotels. The new Hilton at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport looks great, the old one was a dump! Oh, the memories #sobad
How to lose weight in four easy steps. Hilarious! #3 is awesome lol.
Money changes people, and not for the good. Once upon a time there were some really nice people in The Hobby. Then they tasted the money and they…changed. Good read. Loved the ending: “The real problem is that wealth makes us turn inward. We have to shake ourselves up psychologically, reconnect with the needs of others, and get out of our insular worlds.” The bold font is mine for emphasis. Talking to you Titan!
As you probably may have noticed by now, I enjoy photography. Since I suck so bad at it, I enjoy others who have a real talent for it. And I like to escape looking at awesomeness. Such as the 15 Finalists from Smithsonian’s 13 Annual Photo Contest. WOW!
Get hypnotized looking at majestic Iranian Mosque Ceilings. I can’t wait to go there in October!
And now I am going to give you nightmares because I will make you look at the work of Kris Kuksi. Your mommy can not save you…but the TBB Amazon link can woohoo!
MILESBUZZ
And yet another blow to us, ouch! I have been somewhat, well, how to put it…not too optimistic about the future of this hobby that has been hijacked in the past several years by charlatans selling plastic masquerading as “experts” and selling a false lifestyle to a sea of newbies. Well, guess what folks? The game is almost up, we are nearing the end of the road here. The only question left is this.
But if they quit, the whole entertaining mission of this blog may go out the window then, boo!
Breaking: This stock got destroyed today, as in 43% down in just one day! So I guess Mr. CSP will be signing many more cards woohoo! So if they go down…who is their competition? Anyone fully versed on this stuff AND can talk? Let me know, I would like to pay the intern some day if possible, TBB stock options charade can only go so far!
If you are thinking about reselling, this post is for you. I agree with it. Especially this: “…reselling is essentially a job. I don’t want a second job.” Bingo, I already got two and only one pays the bills around here and it’s not this one lol. If you are thinking about it, read the 7 factors involved in reselling and #THINK!
And I leave you with this…
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It was the best of times, it was the first of times.
You are number 1 here!
I read the piece you linked to from DD and then read his interview on Medium. There is no way that he is hitting 100K uniques a day! That is more than TPG and check out their Compete and Alexa scores. If that is true, how did DD lose his Chase links? You would think that he would be able to convert enough to keep his numbers up!
Lol, losing Chase links on DD and OMaaT had zero to do with conversions and traffic.
And where do you see TPG traffic numbers?
TPG traffic:
https://www.quantcast.com/thepointsguy.com?qcLocale=en_US#trafficCard
So what did it have to do with then? Curious minds..
Customer profitability.
It took them THAT long to figure that out!
Marketing 101, is all about ROI.
I’m tired of bailing out bank.
Mentioning churning and 2-24BM?
I made this comment in a FT ta few days ago:
I think what is happening is, as airlines have improved on handling their operations (in general!) technologically speaking, banks have also done the same. Translating: they can track how many customers coming from each blog tend to be long term profitable customers. Our space is dominated by churners who tend to make horrible customers for the banks. Therefore, the axes keep falling on these bloggers and the only ones with true lasting potential are the ones who branch out and target even MORE the newbies who never had a CSP card before (heck, never had a credit card period!). Ben got in too late to target college students.
Watch TPG next in Oprah!
Oh, by the way, Bankrate stock got smashed yesterday, 43% in one day…so things are not looking good for these plastic pushing bloggers decimating our hobby
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/external-miles-points-resources/1483373-one-mile-time-omaat-discussions-merged-112.html
Transparency has NEVER been a strong point in this murky industry….Hope these bloggers can reinvent themselves going forward. The smart ones have put enough away to take care of themselves without having to work. It’s all about marketable skills…what they have is online marketing skills. They can always sell ginsu knives I guess. Can you imagine getting a resume by OMAAT? So…you’ve been flying F around the clock wow!
Been buried by actual work & taking a little short breath TBBing, I need it!
I only hope we get a second, ah, third chance soon.
Never give up.
Nice writing and syncopation with the links today.
My guess is that the reason Titans are losing direct links (if they are) is that it was a dumb idea to pay them to bring in new customers to begin with. The customers they got were those that wanted free travel, not a long term banking relationship.
But enough about me.
Had lunch yesterday with somebody from one of the credit bureaus. Long story short, banks are banks are paying much closer attention to offer churning than they ever have and the bureaus are closely involved in the effort. Which we already knew of course, but it was interesting to hear it from the inside.
Why are they all of sudden starting to care? Are there too many of us so it’s finally hurting bottom line or something else’s?
I think the business conditions in all the other lines is getting hit left and right. Investment banking for example. Debit cards getting decimated. Better technology. Prepaid cards/Bitcoin/millenials/Ramsey (the debt dude, not the one here!) avoiding credit blah blah blah. It all adds up. See my longer comment above. I think the golden era of pushing travel rewards credit cards to hobbyists is over. The successful conversion numbers will not be there (Chase 5/24 & now Amex across the board). I am just waiting for the first Titan to…move on.
I think it’s been a progression rather than a sudden event. 5 years ago, I blamed the Troll for going on Nighline with churning since I thought it was broad, public exposure that the banks would react to. Turned out, a bigger impact was signaling to bloggers that it was ok to be indiscreet if it might make you a buck.
So indiscreet showed up-meet the bowtie, meet the big rabbit, meet even good folks like Dan teaching point-hungry mobs, meet the hundreds who show up in the Friday interviews as having been a blogger since last Thursday. And in the other corner, from Ann Arbor, Michigan……….
Marathon Man’s a smart guy and the wisest thing he wrote is that this is all a temporary gig. So, yeah, when it got big enough, the banks and others picking up the tab had to start reigning it in.
Boss said you…nailed it!
The Alaska Airlines Visa bonus will increase in May, but can you do better?
http://milecards.com/1588426670/the-alaska-airlines-visa-bonus-will-increase-in-may-but-can-you-do-better/
Will only be worth it if the AF is waived, or they have a statement credit. Otherwise 25k + $100 wins.
It is worth it every single time ~4 times per year. Open, bonus, close, repeat.
5 in a day, thanks MMS.
Cruz is a mean asshole
Rubio maxes out credit cards and never hired anyone
Kasich is form Ohio, who cares?
Carson: Yawn
not by me “the above”, I know how to spell from
Who is this avatar….I know it but can’t remember
Phil Spector
Oh yes! Thanks.
George, where is the reason behind giving up on Hyatt Diamond? Did I miss something? Mlife hotels here I come.
That was clickbait, pure and simple. Made you look 🙂
I always thought Hyatt Diamond was overrated.
Churning gone wrong. It works on a literal and a metaphorical level:
http://i.imgur.com/keiWDhl.gif
We need a…steep recession to preserve our inherent birth right to travel for…free 🙂
Hello.
Yeah Dan’s deals, it went over my head. All the numbers and letters. Sounds like he was making it work.
How many days would you recommend I stay in Florence?
Should I drive from Paris to Madrid ?
Florence 2-3 days. Could be “done” in 1 day. Go to Sienna for a day.
Should I drive from Paris to Madrid ?
I would fly unless you want to experience the landscape or the Pyrenees.
I agree with ABC. Definitely at the very minimum 2 days in Florence. 3 is better and done in a slower leisurely way. It is very beautiful. Watching the bridges scenery from the hills at sunset with some wine flowing was an unforgettable moment. That was done so many years ago, don’t remember much but that moment was magical.
That drive is too long. Do it only if you want what ABC mentions. There is a high speed train but it was very expensive last time I checked. With so many BA Avios floating around I would burn some 😉
We did 3 days in Florence, but one of those was spent doing a day trip to the Cinque Terre, which I would definitely recommend if you have time.
Last month I flew from Paris to Madrid for under 100 euros. Check Vueling and Iberia (both are owned by Iberia). Better yet-check ’em all:
https://matrix.itasoftware.com/#view-flights:research=PARMAD
At least 3 days in Florence-check Rick Steves’ guide on mechanics in Florence. Buy the guide using the Amazon link above.
Come to think of it, buy Steves’ Guide to Madrid too-it is also very informative.
And with two Amazon hits in one day, the Buzzer can order a large coffee at Panera.
It was $5.05 yesterday so I am holding off pumping today, thanks! 🙂
About that reselling post…I always feel like everyone should try buy & sell occasionally, just to remind themselves how difficult it is so they have a realistic idea of how much money they’re going to lose as a reseller (not earn, because they won’t earn, they’ll just get back some fraction of their original cost). The few people who make money reselling work very, very hard and have a lot of good sources AND a good knowledge of where/how they can sell. These days, with everybody at the garage sale having a shopping app in hand… reselling is a very hard job that will cost most people more money than they can ever earn back. Heard a rumor that even Goodwill is apparently going bankrupt, and they get their product for free.