TBB Mission: To Entertain, Educate and Inspire. Aim to at least do one well!
If you like what you see here, please let others know by passing them a link to my blog, thank you!
TRAVEL
Tuscany. By Lenticular Travel. [Andrew: My posts take hours too! ]
China’s Airline industry is growing like crazy!
Indulge The Wanderlust had this pic of his kids in Hawaii. Isn’t it just awesome?
20 awe-inspiring places. Nice list by Trip Advisor. Glad I knocked out Pulpit Rock in Norway back in April. Check out this pic from Yemen!
This photo of Socotra Island is courtesy of TripAdvisor
MILES/POINTS
Still no IHG Reward rebate on the award redemptions from our trip to Canada, come on!
Running behind on Flyer Talk. Bloggers who have a full time job and blog seriously…how do they do it? And how do you have time to keep up with earning and burning activities too? Of course if you add all the cc affiliate link massaging on top too it amazes me you have time to go to the bathroom! One benefit of blogging: It forces you to become more efficient with your time!
I need to get me some more cards. This is NOT a benefit of blogging: finding time to earn & burn.
I can’t wait for September to get here to replenish my Bluebird cards!
ON MY MIND
Every year, when summer starts, I say that I am going to do this and that and so many things Every year, at the end of the summer, I realize I have done just a fraction of these things. And I say to myself “next summer I am going to do them all, you watch”.
I have client meetings on Labor Day. Working on Labor Day. Sounds fair!
ODDZ & ENDZ
Winner of Red Bull Action Sports Photo Contest: Epic shot, wow!
Time lapse video of the Yosemite Park fire. “Beautiful and Deeply Disturbing!”
Gay Marriages Get Recognition from the IRS. This is a huge and welcoming development!
The Subculture of Japanese Trucker Art. Weirdl…kind of fascinating.
BLOG BUZZ
Note: This section is intended for long time readers and miles/points addicts who follow the blogs in this space. Readers not familiar with this crazy hobby could skip this section! Do not take anything personal. TBB reviews blogs. Call me Siskel.
I had a dream last night. That miles/points bloggers were compensated based on their hard work, the quality of their content and the value they add to their readers’ lives. And then I woke up!
Million Mile Secrets post about some travel challenge was a bit disappointing. Not much good stuff lately. Too much traveling and/or spend on the maximizer project? Hope he still wants to do the interview one day with me. If not, I understand completely. And it has been in my to do list for…months. One day, one day.
The Points Credit Card Guy wrote “Applying For The Best Credit Cards – The Top Deals For Your Round Of Applications”. I am just amazed how many ways one site can push the same freaking cards day in and day out. My eyes socket feel…violated every time I visit now. Maybe I should do a parody of the “Top Worst Deals for your round of applications”…yikes!
Extra Pack of Peanuts comes alive and posts “The 6 Best Ways to Use Starpoints”. No exclamation mark(s)!
View From The Wing lists the top 5 credit cards again. Didn’t we recently see this? And can a blogger COUNT and stick to the number in the title ONCE? If you list top 5, just post 5…don’t throw in more links on the top of the 5. Why? Well, why the hell not match the title crying out loud!
Deals We like is on Part 6 of 11 on the (what else?) SPG series. Let’s see, promo ends on September 3rd..so I predict a part a day now for the next 5 days. Prove TBB wrong (no doubledip!).
Frugal Travel Guy (the blog) is now on #3 top credit card. Ladies and gentlemen, for the bronze medal, drumroll, we have: Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. I know you are completely shocked. Taking bets that the top two will be non affiliate cards. Buahahahahaahahahahahaahaha. Of course the Ink cards will be here. Question is will it be Ink Bold or Ink Plus as separate entries or both? Or will we have the AMEX Platinum card as Number 2 (yeah, frugal travelers all love to pay the $450 annual fees!). If it makes it (maybe it was picked as of one of the Top 30 already) up there you know why, pays top commission, always did and likely always will!
Milevalue, get ready, “Which is the Better Offer: 50k Business Gold Card or 30k SPG Business Card?”. In typical Siskel fashion, thumbs down!
University of Michigan move in day here in Ann Arbor. Funny pic now but it won’t be as funny in just 7 years!
Breaking News: The latest German plan for the Greek economy has just been revealed:
first?
Congrats! Tell me where to send you the prize: a southwest drink coupon 🙂
Remember when Lucky was aghast and broke the scoop on United’s rumored revenue-based elite program? United quickly pulled back. Remember when Lucky was aghast and broke the scoop on American’s addition of fuel surcharges to award tickets? American quickly pulled back.
Lucky is a godd@mn hero, and you filthy plebes should consider yourselves fortunate that he looks out for you. All hail Lucky.
Maybe, just maybe, we should be grateful to him after all 🙂
George, glad you like my photos 🙂
Look, you mentioned you want to get serious about your photography,
would you be interested in some photography tips? Lightroom or Photoshop
tricks to easily improve your images? I’m really struggling with this,
I’m getting many requests, but don’t want to create anything boring or for the experts only.
There’s plenty of this online. I want to create something simple, not too long, interesting
and for everyone to learn. When I even mention “Photoshop” people freak out…
You always say what you think, would a set of simple techniques help you?
How do you process your photos?
In today’s digital photography, there is no escape, pressing the shutter is only
half of the process…
I am drawn into photography but really have no time to devote to it. You know, this new hobby I picked up lately (blogging). I have even stopped watching as many movies as I used to!
Photography tips for complete newbies with a digital camera would be nice.
Never heard of Lightroom. I personally know the Photoshop inventor by the way. Playing with it scares me:-) Yes, I do freak out!
Process my photos? I push the shutter button and I upload them in my PC 🙂
I like looking at photos. It would be cool to learn to take photos like yours but I imagine this takes a lot of practice, time I do not have! Instead, I “create” here, this is my solution to my artistic cells in my brain. I always had some but they were kind of repressed 🙂
Thanks again!
I, personally, use Lightroom. I like call myself an amateur enthusiast photographer and Lightroom does almost all of what I need to do. I think its organization schema is much better. I find watching youtube videos the best way to learn tips & tricks but it isnt easy.
I should start watching youtube videos then to learn how to use WordPress finally!
I use Lightroom but really have no idea what I am doing. Something aimed at beginners would be quite helpful for me.
I think we gave Andrew some material for his blog!
Great, thanks 🙂
I think my priority will be how to TAKE a good photograph, I will show you how a simple
filter on your lens can improve the quality, how the angle changes everything, this kind
of stuff. Later I will do some basic Lightroom tips, an entire workflow in a few simple steps.
I hope you can’t say any of my post is not original content LOL
Andrew
Ok, looking forward to it. Tailor it for extreme newbies, they are the largest market out there;-)
‘Bloggers who have a full time job and blog seriously…how do they do it? ‘
Ahem, you are assuming they create original content…. 😉
Which ones do you think create original content and which do not? Don’t be a weasel and insinuate. NAME NAMES.
Good points 🙂
Getting the buzz post out takes so much time I am running out of time to do anything else for my blog! One day, if I do not fold like a cheap suit, I will get to it!
Among the more well-known bloggers, Frequent Miler, WA and Loyalty Traveler is almost always original content
Gary, DansDeals, LoyaltyLobby and Lucky (although Lucky’s trending in the wrong direction) often has original content, or at least original analysis of unoriginal content
MP, MV will once in a rare while have original content, but it’s few and far between (didn’t used to be the case with both of them) as they’re now bought and paid for by the banks (did you know the SPG Amex is 30K now?)
TPG, FTG, MMS, DWL, DP….. you need the Hubble Telescope to be able to see original content from them
What in the world is DWL? Although from the category you put them in, along with TPG and FTG (the blog, or the person?) I probably don’t want to know!
Deals We Like
For the life of me, I can’t figure out how low the qualifications are to be on BoardingArea that she is allowed there
She’s right now in the middle of an 11 part series on the SPG card where each part is essentially just repeating the stuff already found on SPG.com (but with an affiliate link)
I need to find time to do my Top 10 or so blogs one of these days!
Deals We Like is a joke.
Funny that you bring up TPG’s ability to come up with creative ways to pimp the same cards over and over
Post title today: “Why you shouldn’t get the Amtrak credit card”
Summary of his post: “because you should get the CIB, CIP, CSP, CS non P, Freedom, SPG Amex and SPG Business instead”
Saw that, it is in the queue. Thanks for the heads up, nothing surprises me anymore. Some businesses are just into aggressive selling, not my cup of tea. It always bothered me if someone was trying to force me to buy something, I run the opposite direction!
The whoring of the SPG card ad nauseum has been unbelievable and unbearable. Why is it so excruciatingly bad Buzz? Is Amex offering a higher commission rate to affiliates during this promotion? I cannot believe that 5000 extra points in today’s world manufactured spending means a whole hell of a lot to most of us. Don’t the blogger realize they are losing credibility and turning/pissing off their loyal readers. I need a new hobby. God Bless TBB, God Bless America and God Bless Mcdonalds and Ribs. Shalom, As-salaam, Bye Y’All.
I think it used to be slightly bearable up until August of last year. Something happened starting with January/February this year, when bloggers “gave up” and just started selling cards ad nausea. It might have been chain reaction starting with the TPG 30 cards linkfest which started all of this. I think it became acceptable to linkfest if you disclosed that you get a commission up top.
Good luck breaking this addiction. If you come up with a 10 step path, I bet there are a lot of wives (and kids) that would buy that book.
In my humble industry observer opinion, what happened about a year ago was that Chase just decided to clean house and suddenly dropped a whole lot of smaller “shops” dishing out credit cards. The ones who survived the cut “got” the message and have been on a major sell spree since then. I believe the BA “umbrella” is protecting some of them because, if they were on their own, they would not be allowed to have them.
That’s my gut feeling. This is a murky non transparent industry and bloggers are contractually not allowed to disclose their compensation arrangements. The vast majority of newbies clicking on them have no clue of the inherent conflicts of interest involved.
What I know of Bent Offers is that I would rather not be in the same country with them. And right now my two favorite blogger fans are shaking their heads saying “WTF is wrong with George cutting his head off”. And I say yawn lol.
One of these days I will learn more…I clearly ain’t got time for dat since I started blogging. Supportive emails with “you got more integrity than 100 bloggers combined” mean a lot more to me at this stage than being associated with these guys.
At the same time, I will some day look into monetizing. And I hope it is before I burnout and fold like a cheap suit lol.
Entertaiment. For Free. TBB (it rhymes!)
It’s murky and nontransparent, but you want to join them, so who’s worse? Those that do and make $, or those that whine, bitch, complain, point fingers, and supposedly take the high road (but who in reality really would love to have the $).
Face it, you’d be pimping away just like all the rest if you had sufficient readership to get affiliate links.
Thanks for the feedback.
Let me ask you something back.
Do you consider the way Frequent MIler is doing it as murky/nontransparent/pushy? I hope not! How about Rapid Travel Chai, Saverocity, Travel Summary, Hack My Trip? Do you bunch them in along with all the others? I certainly do NOT!
So, my point has been, I wish this cancer had never joined my hobby. It is here and we can not do much about it other than educating the consumers to make right choices. They should support bloggers who work hard, try to provide original content and respect their readers by not hitting them upside the head day in and day out with affiliate cc links.
TBB reviews blogs. The hobby has grown so much (did you catch the new blogger at F2B: Mileonomics) that a site like TBB is a welcome (well, not by all bloggers!) addition. Besides, I do try hard to entertain/educate/inspire you all.
I follow almost all blogs. Some of them get a fraction of the traffic TBB does (something which I am proud you know) and they have affiliate links. I honestly have not looked into the subject, even though I get emails DAILY that I am an idiot of not doing so yet and how readers can not wait to support me.
My first entry to monetization with AdNonSense was quite educational. I am learning and having fun. One day I will look into the cc monetization aspect AND do my best to do it differently and in a way that IMPROVES the space. I have some ideas. Maybe the cc affiliate companies tell me to get lost. It’s ok.
TBB is like my baby. I love saying things people are thinking about and having a forum expressing themselves. I believe deeply in non censoring. TBB reviews blog businesses. It is like Yelp. Wish it had the authority to do recalls LOL. TBB dishes out praise when I see it is warranted. And constructive criticism. Some take it personal, they should not. Sometimes it may hurt but it is needed (imho) to effect change!
TBB will never pimp away, not my style! And please burn me at the stakes if I start doing so!
10 months, so many hours, so many smiles spread, devoted readers, still growing. I focus on the TBB mission and the content. It is like a startup, as soon as they start focusing on the big payout, they lose focus and blow up. TBB keeps building. Always a problem when people focus on the money first!
Just my two cents. Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment. Love being challenged!
Just because someone doesn’t push the cards doesn’t mean that they chose that road. Look at Travel Summary – he would definitely have been singing a different song if he hadn’t gotten shut out of the high-paying affiliate deal early on. It’s easy to take a high road when that was the only road afforded you.
You make an excellent point actually. If he had spent all the time on producing content instead of looking to monetize…Wait, if I had spent all the time he spent on monetizing maybe…
Well, it is what it is. As of now, I like his stuff and how he is doing it. Maybe I change my mind down the road.
TBB is always watching;-)
There is a radio station in Alabama that dubs itself “truth radio”: WTBB 89.9 FM.
http://www.trinityoxford.org/truth/
Is that you, George?
I have not looked up KTBB radio yet — but if it does not exist, you should start it.
Brian,
I always believed that:
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3181/3025654830_3414945abc_z.jpg?zz=1
Come to think of it, that’s the only TV show i ever watched. Other than 60 minutes. And some SNL 🙂
Thanks for the contributions here as always!
YES! I SO CALLED IT!
FTG’s number two best credit card is Ink Bold. Ink Bold and Ink Plus don’t get lumped together. That means #1 will be Ink Plus!!!
Truly sad that the #2 Ink Bold place is under Ariana’s byline.
I think you may be right. Or maybe they let it go (as it is almost identical to the Bold) and go for the big hitter: AMEX Platinum…But maybe that was picked earlier. I am not going to go through to find it right now. I am excited to see which card gets the gold medal!
All cards were done by “FTG Staff”. Number 2 was done by Ariana. Not sure why the distinction. I am sad too…
PRICELESS
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/external-miles-points-resources/1478210-how-many-times-can-blogs-post-same-thing-3.html#post21364843
FTG (the senior citizen, not the blog) calls out Randy Petersen for his greed in running ads which do not pay based on approved credit card application. This is surreal on so many levels.
It is a fair answer to the question of why Randy wants 75 blogs on BA, though.
75 card pushing blogs would be a bit surreal though.
Of course it is a fair answer and true as well. He doesn’t need the blogs pimping cc. With their model all he needs is the blogs and readers
Not surprising, like with TBB, FTG trolls and “calls out” people he doesn’t like just for the sake of doing it
His faux-outrage for anything Randy, Gary, TBB, FTU and anything else he has trivial beef with is quite comical what with him being unable to follow his own mosquito-infested advice
Not that those entities (except TBB :)) are free of guilt…. just that he is the last person that should be calling them out for it
What’s his beef with Randy, Gary, etc.?
Steve, when you have some inside knowledge about the space would be a much more appropriate time to comment.
I will give you this piece of inside information, The best thing that ever happened to me financially was NOT going with BoardingArea when originally asked. I think you’ll find that to be true of several other independent bloggers as well if they’ll answer the question. I am truly surprised some of the bigger bloggers have not stepped out on their own,.
Randy and I got along fine for years although my cheese got a little fried when he forgot to tell me he couldn’t speak in Chicago last year, until only two days before the event. As it turned out the tornado warning would have preempted him anyway so no big deal either way.
>>>>>>> I am truly surprised some of the bigger bloggers have not stepped out on their own.
Me too!
Never said a thing about greed. tried to educate the angries on the BA model. that’s all. I thought info instead of conjecture would be a nice change around here.
PS; Largest paying card was on the list daaaays ago.
Thanks Rick for educating FT readers about BA’s business model. I thought his answer was short and to the point. Certainly not angry 🙂
Randy is a smart business man, he’s got a good thing going with BA. There is a huge advantage in “build it and they will come”. That is why (from what I am sensing) is so hard to get Milepoint to make inroads. I think he always had too many things going. I see the same pattern with his partners who he associates with, they like to have multiple sources of income. For example GL has: full time job, award booking, prolific blogger, Milepoint founder, speaker, real estate investor, pancake expert-joking-, etc. I am more of: do one (or max two) things and focus/excel on them. Life is too short to keep building multiple sources of income imho. Build one or two around your passions, have plenty of fun and enjoy the ride!
From what I know BA does not get any of the cc revenue. It’s purely a page views and click ads mega generator. Am I correct?
I do not see TBB conforming and becoming one of many in an aggregator. I consider it only for the tech help I so truly need. But my material is so out there that I just do not “fit” in…anywhere! That’s okay, I am used to it. I do cherish my independence and flexibility in doing my own thing.
Steve: Take it easy man. I think Rick/Ingy/FTG (the man) gave the correct answer in FT. Contributed to the discussion. Bet you many readers did NOT know it! And, you are right, I am free of guilt up to now. Got another email today “Get your affiliate links, what are you waiting for?” lol
>>>>>>>>>>>Ingy: I thought info instead of conjecture would be a nice change around here.
You sound angry!
>>>>>>>>>>>Ingy: PS; Largest paying card was on the list daaaays ago.
So, which is #1: Ink Plus. Come on, spill the beans at TBB, give me an exclusive. Perfect for my tabloid blog buzz, don’t you think?
Nice to have you back!
#1 I honestly don’t remember,. I voted several weeks ago along with Howie and Ariana.
I’m not angry., I just get a little disgusted when I try to make a informed contribution and some of the angries continue to take cheap shots. Makes it difficult to be supportive of your readers learning experience. I’ve always felt you get more info with honey than vinegar but don’t see much honey around here.
Oh the stories I could tell about the huge opportunities being missed in this blogging space.
BTW, don’t you owe me gift cards for increasing your comments? I could have sworn you made that deal 😉
Ingy: And please don’t get angry! Maybe it has to do with the history of FTG. This can be a very long discussion and need to start on the new blog post. New blogger today, they just keep coming and coming! Mileonomics at F2B. Interesting name for sure.
You can tell the stories about the huge opportunities at TBB 🙂
I never make deals detrimental to my pocket, unless they were for charity!
Ok that was a joke 🙂