ON MY MIND
Let me again state what is becoming obvious in this hobby. As most bloggers deep into affiliate link pushing frenzy spend so much time coming up with ever more innovative ways to push the same affiliate links to their readers over and over and over, we do have some other bloggers who focus on coming up with creative out of the box thinking to present to their readers and/or actually providing useful content that does not, shockingly, provide an excuse to promote the same affiliate links! Let me explain:
Frequent Miler‘s “Convert Ultimate Rewards to US Airways/American Miles” blog post was what this community truly needs: Innovative out of the box thinking. Instead of wasting time adding/editing/promoting 30+ affiliate links he spends his time coming up with unique content! Did you notice how he never includes affiliate links in the body of the posts? You should appreciate that and when it’s time to apply for a credit card you should think twice before clicking on some other blogger’s links who instead never misses the most ridiculous excuse to assault your eye sockets with yet more of the same affiliate links. Hey FM, I think it would be fine if you add a line on top of each post with something like “If you like what you read here you can support me by visiting my _____ (affiliate) tab” or something to that effect. I think you have earned the respect of the blogoshpere to be given a free pass to do this without any guilt! At the end of the day, content should always be king!
At the same time, Million Mile Secrets has probably the best affiliate link policy out there. He will simply state up front ON TOP what links are affiliate ones and which ones are not. He will not promote inferior offers, which is huge! I actually prefer the way FM is doing it and let readers’ apps be judged on content and general practices alone! Come to think of it, maybe I should consider looking into starting a Star service, similar to the rating system of mutual funds by Morningstar. Huh, this idea just came to me. I do well in coming up with ideas, following through is my weakness lol. The unique gift of MMS is how well he writes. Many fellow hobbyists think he writes too well:-) I don’t consider me smarter than lots fellow miles/points addicts so sometimes I cheat and read MMS and I know I will understand it:-) Case in point: “New Rules for Gettinug 2 Citi Credit Cards“.
You see the hobby getting out more in the mainstream. Not only that, you now see mainstream bloggers getting into the affiliate link frenzy, oh the horrors! Check out this post by PT Money “My First Credit Card App Party Results in 200,000 Bonus Points“. He had to email his boy the NoobTraveler to get Chase’s Reconsideration Dept phone number, say whaaaaat? Sometimes I wonder if I am an idiot wasting so much precious time doing this as a labor of love, yikes! Please don’t comment on that. Well, comment on whatever you want, it’s a free country!
MILES/POINTS
Pointchaser, after the Club Carlson best redemption series, is starting a series of posts for best Hyatt Gold Passport Redemptions. Here is Category 1. I am no Hyatt guy so feel free to check out the rest in the series. Hey Pointchaser, after you are done, can you do a single blog post wtih links to each blog post covering each category? That would be a good bookmark for my readers. I gotta say that Hyatt in Kathmandu looks quite interesting.
Funniest line read today was this gem by Scott at Hack My Trip: “No one has ever dared to review Amtrak’s bus service, but here at Hack My Trip, I make it my mission to go where no man has gone before” in his review. I was at the gym beating myself up in an Octane machine and almost flew off of it laughing uncontrollably:-)
Holy cow, this was a pissed off Marriott employee posting in View from the Wing. Well, we will likely never know for sure. It was sure interesting to read him whining about Platinum members whining. What a bunch of whiners if you ask me lol. I think Chris Elliott wants to high five me;-)
TRAVEL
25 Incredible Things To Do In Delhi, India. From Migrationology. This one was saved into my Evernote for possible use in the future.
Five Ways to Travel Like a Boss. From Landlopers. These are five WAY over the top experiences people with way too much money and time in their hands! You want to visit every UNESCO World Heritage Site over two years? Bring $575k and no, you can’t pay with miles or points!
Fantastic photos of airports taken from above. I know I have several aviation geeks who read my blog, this link is for you. (HT to Jaunted)
ODDZ & ENDZ
30 sweet and beautiful “father and son” photos. Blog of Francesco Mugnai. Absolutely fantastic & uplifting!
This crazy Ukranian dude again, he goes by the name “Mustang Wanted”, with his crazy stunts hanging from tall buildings. From Bored Panda. I think this is not going to end well.
Bitcoin explained. Very nice HD video explaining the tulip mania of the 21st century!
And, dear readers, I leave you with this image:
I did a post on Head for Points 2 weeks ago which links to all of the Pointchase Club Carlson series!
http://www.headforpoints.com/2013/03/20/the-best-places-in-the-world-to-use-your-club-carlson-points/
Very nice. I may add at some point, no promises. Maybe when Pointchaser finishes the Hyatt series too (hint)
I’m of the belief that “the best place to use X hotel points” is always “where you want to visit.” For example, I have medium-term plans to visit Mozambique, and the Club Carlson points would be helpful at the new Radisson Blu in Maputo. Hotels in many countries are either unreliable in quality or expensive.
I have no plan to patronize Hyatt or travel somewhere just to stay at a hotel.
I know this isn’t a novel or controversial or even interesting opinion.
harvson3
Wow, Mozambique? I have yet to make it to Africa and I am frankly embarrased by this!
Still at daydreaming stage.
harvson3
Obviosuly FM is the place to go when I want to toss some affiliate $$$ my way
If TPG, MommyPoints or Lucky ever had a post title that contains the words “Ultimate Rewards”, “US Airways” and “AA” in it, I shudder to think how many links it would contain
Not that they need those words to push links
MommyPoints could be talking about toddler car seats and she’ll find a way to get the SPG Amex link in there somewhere
It is a systemic issue…
Frequent Miler is the absolute star.
The rest of them are just a bunch of hacks and modern beggars. George has a hard on for MMS and keeps trying to force it on everyone but MMS has pissed off more hobbyists than TPG, FTG,VFTW et al and no amount of disclosure-for-deception will make up for it. There are some fans of his that post there though (an entity called “Robert Hanson” plus some random female names) and I guess some are enamored by the simplicity and spoon feeding. But MMS is one of the worst commercial offenders, the disclosures not withstanding. All those spilling beans will eventually karma catch up to him.
Imagine Steele “maximizing”/”free lancing” on MMS as a guest blogger one of these days. Oh the “disclosed” link orgy…..
My points on MMS were: He writes very well and he has fantastic disclosure policies. That’s it.
Sorry, Mickey, but who cares if MMS has pissed off a bunch of people? A bunch of people like you… Your ilk is well-known: the lets-keep-it-in-the-club type. At least he doesn’t go on national TV promoting the hobby! Why don’t you save your frustration for those bloggers that do that…
Lets keep it in the club types originated because of your masters like MMS. There was no such club or at least voices promoting discretion were not prominent until MMS and similar blogs started broadcasting information using their loudspeakers typically by stealing from other forums and blogs in order to gain reader(customer)ship. You and other nut huggers wanted spoon feeding, go for it and keep licking his ass. That we certainly do not care. Nowadays he is forced to credit his source and curb his arrogance. Eventually his business based on stealing information and packaging it for stupid people model will be brought down.
As for other prominent bloggers going on TV, we hate them too and they are also being forced to listen to masses although they certainly do not care that much. Their arrogance comes from experience and being in the industry far longer and sometimes being the pioneer or information. Lately they have been forced to keep up with the blogs that are spawning more than roaches in summer. Their recent model is despised by us and also criticized and laughed at/ridiculed. They have been forced to change their blatant plagiarizing and affiliate link whoring too.
Now go back to to sucking MMS. Sorry for the reflection of poor character (NOT!)
Can we not get along?
Bottom line is that you are not going to stop MMS or any of the others. The best you can do is learn how to adapt so that your (our) hobby continues as best it can.
I don’t think the vitriol helps anything, though, and just makes you come across as angry and off-kilter.
You seem like a thoughtful guy, so maybe you can find a more productive (and kinder) way to get what you want done.
You could have put your point across in a better way too. I understand you like MMS, that is your choice and it is fine. I am not trying to change you.
However calling me “your ilk” etc is trolling for an angry response.
Also I am not frustrated. I am not trying to stop MMS. I am definitely going to call him out and ridicule the beggars and your trolling is not going to stop me either. I am not saying everyone needs to be frustrated, angry or hateful, but man I do not understand stupid worshippers of these blogs. Are you guys getting paid?
>>>>>>>>Are you guys getting paid?
No. If I charged my hourly rate for every hour I spent on this blog obsession I would be rich I could afford to hire Jason Steele full time:-)
Oh man, the father and son picture with the soldier made me tear up!
Yes, several of them pics were just crying out for a Kleenex!
FM is the man.
Just compare his post today on shopping at Home Improvement stores (with the Freedom Bonus etc) with the post made by another prominent blogger on the same topic. The latter post is chock full of affiliate links (“Oh the chase freedom is more useful while combining with Ink Bold, Ink Plus and your gammy”) and the rest is just full of boilerplate (about families not being able to afford eating out at restaurants). FM’s post on the other hand was full of useful analysis and information.
And that was my point I wanted to get across. Will it change the landscape. Probably not…
MMS is a horrific blogger. I have no idea what it is your man-crush on him
Yes, he discloses his links, and he doesn’t post inferior links
That is not the same thing as saying his posts aren’t greatly biased when it comes to CC pimping
Just like the rest of the bloggers, he didn’t bother talking about the Barclays arrival card until it started paying him $$$. And he’ll have plenty more Marriott links than he will Club Carlson links
His actual posts (with rare exceptions) are terrible – he’s awful at writing trip reports, his Friday interviews are just taking any random person who has a blog, the PointsEnvy columns haven’t been funny in forever, and his “news you can use” is just rehashing things everybody else already covered
I don’t think any 1 blogger has a higher rate of filler posts than him
He’s basically TPG with slightly more disclosure. TPG with slightly more disclosure….. is still a terrible blogger
Amen to that. George’s man crush is getting tiring and I know he can throw the I-refused-his-interview line on us.
It is a blog founded upon the idea of making money from other people’s works. Unacceptable regardless of what he does down the road.
It is okay to not like me or what I write. But it *isn’t* okay to make stuff up!
1) The Barclays Arrival card offered me a commission for the past few months, but the sign-up bonus was only 20,000 points or ~$220 towards travel, so I never mentioned it. The sign-up bonus increased to 40,000 points or ~$440 so I mentioned it on the blog.
So your contention that “he didn’t bother talking about the Barclays arrival card until it started paying him $$$” is incorrect.
2) I actually link to a better Marriott offer on my hotel credit card tab than the standard affiliate offer.
And I haven’t written posts specifically to promote the Marriott cards, so I’m not sure what you mean by “plenty more Marriott links.”
I respectfully disagree. Again, my two main points: He writes very well & great cc link & disclosure practices. I do not like the trip reports but I may look for them if I happen to visit the location as I know I will find plety of detail and pics about them…I just think the language is dry. Ditto for the Friday interviews, need to shake up the questions, they are getting to be boring. And puuuulease, don’t accuse him about filler posts, I know filler, look all around you:-)
Yeah, what happened to Points Envy? Busy banking lately or what? 😉
I temporarily declined the interview, I will do it one day. I just move very slow like a turtle!
MMS: You have come a long way. You don’t have to give everything away and the kitchen sink. A little holding back is all right.
I am sorry for all the spam comments inserted here. I try to delete them as fast as I can.
Please no name calling, it’s not cool. Respectful open CONSTRUCTIVE discussion is very much welcome and encouraged at all times!
“He writes very well”
Um… what?
Just taking a look at his 10 posts currently on the front page, starting with the most recent:
Virgin Status Match (well covered in blogosphere. Not really noteworthy news either)
News you can use (repeated stuff that have been well covered)
New Rules for Citi Cards (good post)
Virgin Atlantic is UR partner (not really important news. Excuse to pimp UR cards)
Hilton Reserve Post (nothing relevant. Just an excuse to pimp the Citi Reserve card)
Trip Report (Oh, so that’s what Emily looks like. I was wondering)
Bluebird Breaking News (that was already plenty broken before he posted about it)
Friday Interview (zzzzzz….)
Trip Report (zzzzzz…..)
Barclays Arrival pimping
I count among those 10 posts 1 post that was solid and added any actual value to the community
So I ask you TBB – do you think either:
A) some of those posts above actually are valuable?
B) You agree that 9 of his past 10 posts were either filler posts, CC pimping or rehashing well-covered topics (or some combination thereof), but he’s still a great writer with that 10% success rate?
Let me clarify. I meant the actual English used in his posts such as the “New Rules for Citi Cards”. I am referring to the clarity and how easy it is to read AND understand. I am not referring to actual Content of every post! Of course he like everyone else will have filler posts and some lazy “summary” like posts (new you can use), they come with the territory. I know if MMS will write about it I will certainly understand it. And that is a gift. THAT is what I am talking about. I agree about the interviews and trip reports. U can email me to elaborate, sorry I was not very clear.
Congratulations are due to George.
Today is #WineWednesday over at TPG and not an affiliate link in sight!
I think it would be really interesting for someone to put together the following chart:
Horizontal axis:
# Posts-March | # Posts w/Aff Links | # CC Posts Non-Aff Links | Disclose? } Best Links Only?
Vertical axis:
TPG
MMS
FTG
Lucky
VFTW
Mommypoints
whomever else
We’d have an objective basis on which to compare pimping. We could solve this whole X is worse than Y! No they aren’t! Let the data speak for itself!
And then of course a whole different axis would be “who actually provides good content?”
Start with the best content, weight by the whoring, and develop a meaningful list of naughty vs. nice.
George could be Santa.
That is a great idea, maybe you or someone else could run with it. Maybe this can be the basis of my Morningstar like rating of the blogs idea I had earlier. Have an algorithm built in a browser extension that automatically pops up the affiliate link of a blogger who rates best and then kind of revolves around to the next blogger for the next app and so on.
Like I said, ideas are great, follwing through is my weakness:-)
I thought “leave” would certainly make the list of “25 things to do in Delhi.” 🙂
Seriously, it’s an interesting city, but truly an assault on one’s senses. It makes Bangkok seem like a tranquil oasis.
It was an interesting blog post with great pics. If I ever go there I would search for it on Evernote. That’s all. I would take Bangkok over Delhi every time!
This.
How My Trip To Singapore Led To My First Nude Swimming Experience
http://www.heelsfirsttravel.com/2013/04/09/how-my-trip-to-singapore-led-to-my-first-nude-swimming-experience/
That post is useless without pictures.
My first thought when I read the title was “Will there be pictures?”
TBB, here’s a link to all my Club Carlson posts: http://www.pointchaser.com/tag/best-club-carlson-hotel-redemptions/
…and Hyatt: http://www.pointchaser.com/best-hyatt-gold-passport-redemptions
Ok, great. Thanks. Do the final post in the Hyatt series with links to the other categories on the top and I will feature it then too.