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| Tree by Phillipe Sainte-Laudy, found here |
ON MY MIND
Well, the events in Boston leave me greatly saddened. And very upset. My thoughts and prayers to all in Boston. There will not be much humor here at all today, I just don’t feel like it.
Heads up! I am about to go on an adventure to Norway flying Virgin Atlantic to London and British Airways to Stavanger. Naturally, the Virgin Atlantic was a prize I won via Twitter and I am using just 9,000 British Airways miles for the intra-Europe flights. I am staying three nights at the Radisson Blu Royal in Stavanger for just 100,000 Club Carlson points (one night free with Club Carlson Visa). One night at the Doubletree in London Heathrow for just 43 British pounds and one night in the La Guardia Sheraton for 10,000 Starwood points. Just so you think I am not that bad of a hoarder, I do enjoy burning miles/points too:-) So…my point is, my blogging will be erratic in the next week until I come back. There is no way I can review all blogs the way I have been all this time. I will get to them all eventually to share with you and hope my eclectic touch stays intact:-)
MILES/POINTS
The Points Guy with Jason Steele writing went on a credit card rampage yesterday and tied the all time record with 39 separate credit card affiliate links (maybe some are not, I already got tired counting them). I felt so tired after scanning the article, just defeated. Everything and the kitchen sink was thrown at it! Hey Jason, are you being paid by word or credit card link? 🙂 Did you guys intetionally stop at 39? Are we being a little pushy here? Just a little? And thanks for all the disclosures so prominent in the body of the post! 39…shaking my head. And here I am feeling bad for pushing my ebates referral link twice and my “send me to space” KLM contest link once. Is it one of them “once you go affiliate ccc links, you never go back” kind of deal? The Free Travel Guys sure have been on a rampage themselves ever since the interview at Million Mile Secrets!
How about some good credit card related advice? Because you can never practice the basics enough. Read “Results of a Churn, and Some Back to Basics Credit Card Churn Advice” by Online Travel Review.
TRAVEL
Reflection like painting: 40 Incredible and stunning photos. From Blog of Francesco Mugnai. WOW! This is one of my favorite blogs!
Welcome to Earth. 4.38 minutes of pure bliss video! I LOVE THIS, so inspirational words can’t describe it! HT to Gadling.
Yomadic‘s trip report from Pogradec, Albania. Hey miles/points bloggers, this is what a trip report should be like. A unique place, awesome pictures, writing that is quite personal. And pics of dead dogs and stuff like this “Nearby to the dog, was a concerning amount of old condoms, used plastic bottles, and a whole bunch of unidentifiable debris.” Instead, we all have to suffer with yet more pics of hotel room toilets and airline first class menus:-)
50 Facts about Earth. This is a pretty cool infographic.
ODDZ & ENDZ
13 Examples of People Being Awesome After the Attack On The Boston Marathon. Love to see the good in the world. If we all concentrated on doing good to make the world a better place…
George, the ‘Yomadic discovers a dead dog’ blog entry was utter nonsense. I recall some analyst visiting in India in the 90s and proclaiming that one of his benchmarks was how long it took for the locals to clean up a dead dog from the street. Fast forward 10 years and I was astounded how long it took for people to clean roadkill in the US. Just food for thought. I would put that Yomadic article in the same class as a FTer posting a photo on how dirty a tray table was.
Oliver, I disagree, I liked it as I find his blog UNIQUE. I know when I read one of his trip reports I know it will be very original, with great pics and always some people pictured! He just posts his own experiences in a way that I find refreshing.
When I was a kid my hometown team got to play a European UEFA cup game with a team in Albania, we are talking early 80s when Albania was still closed down. I remember some players took some pics of the place and made a big impression on me. I think I remember seeing dead dogs in them too:-)
FYI, the Sheraton LaGuardia is not at LaGuardia. It’s in Flushing. I’m hoping for your sake, they have a shuttle? Better check. Sending you a PM via Twitter.
dhammer53
I am pretty sure I picked it because of the shuttle. If not, I would just take a cab. It would not be the first time I screw up!
Chow, I have taken their shuttle many times, LGA is in Flushing So are the METS and the 1962 Worlds Fair, or take in the U.S. Open. Flushing is the Disneyland of NYC….Fabio
Steele is just an awful guest writer. Which makes it all that much more astounding that you brought him on to be the guest writer of your blog
I was new back then and wanted to keep my daily streak alive:-) I liked what he wrote for me, another perspective in this whole blogging thing, I thought it added to the discussion. He is a paid writer, he does not make money from blogging. It’s just a different take on the whole thing. I think he should raise his prices and charge by cc link and not word:-)
“he does not make money from blogging”
Nor should he, considering how awful his blog is
I went to check out Free Travel Guys, not much original content there. Judging by the amount of comments (0) left from readers, not many readers (except the day of the interview).
But ONE THING I DID LEARN FROM DA FREE TRAVEL GUYS was that I made a terrible mistake. Sorry Mama, Sorry Papa, Mea Culpa Grandmama, everyone please forgive me. I only TOLD my family and friends about some of points/miles web blogs to get them started( the better ones than don’t pimp as much). I SHOULD OF STARTED A BLOG to help my friends and family. What a dummy I am.
good luck on your trip, like they always say in Stravenge, “Don’t be a stranger in Stavenger”. PS Be careful in your long journey. Be safe. Had many layovers at the LGA Sheraton, stay in your room, put something against the door at nite. PSS Did you see the documentary that won the academy award? “Looking for Sugarman” It’s about a Detroit musician named Rodriguez who has been close to homeless for the last 40 years, but is bigger than Elvis in South Africa and Australia and didn’t know it. Great Movie available at Redbox, and illeagal downloads, must see. Chow, your pal Fabio Calamarie.
Thanks a lot. I saw Sugarman last year and I blasted out in Social Media that everyone should go see it! LOVED IT!!!!
Not surprised to see your critique of Jason Steele’s piece, but as I posted on Flyertalk, for a newbie the info is helpful. I can see how for an oldtimer at this (no insult intended; I am pretty sure that I am older than you!) it is just one more regurgitation of same old, same old. I also agree that better/more disclosures are needed by practically all the bloggers, with a few exceptions.
But what is a newbie to do? I am finding my way around FT but one of the first times I posted a question I got a snarky/nasty reply and that certainly slowed my participation there. I tried MP but got fewer and often less knowledgeable answers. I realized from a blog that I had used not-the-best US Airways offer to get a card during my first churn, and thanks to comments in that blog, learned I could call to try to get Barclays to improve the offer. Which they did. I now know to check out specific offers on FT before applying for a card, and in part thanks to you, to be very attentive to whether a link to a cc is the best I can do, but frankly, for someone starting out in this game, blogs can be quite helpful.
I am hopeful that the new forum on FT will be helpful too, but am not too encouraged. When I asked for feedback on FT on Jason’s piece, there was little if any about the actual info he provided – whether he was linking to good offers; what was missing or inaccurate and the like – the comments were about whether it was new info or plagiarized. The best comments I saw so far were following the actual piece.
Have fun in Norway. I will miss your daily musings. Be safe.
TWA44 are you an ex employee screwed like myself by AA?
No. My dad worked for TWA for 44 years. He retired in the 1980s. Luckily he (and then my mom) did OK in terms of getting his pension. He was no longer employed when AA took over TWA. I have many very fond memories of flying non-rev as a kid and got to travel more than any kid in my neighborhood. So I am a newbie at the cc churning and manufactured spending game, but not at flying or traveling.
TWA44: I understand where you are coming from. A newbie should follow the MMS blog and Frequent Miler has a series for newbies. And lurk in Flyer Talk and READ READ READ. I know it is intimidating sometimes to move around and ask questions in Flyertalk. Read what others post and then send a PM (Private Message) on FT to the ones who are “gentler”:-)
I had a feature “Newbie Question” but did not get much traction! Maybe I should try again?
Any questions you can ask me by email anytime. I may take some time to get back to you but I will eventually.
Thanks. I follow both MMS and FM and do read on FT. Hadn’t thought to PM folks at FT but will consider it. Probably found your blog after you ditched the newbie question feature. You could add it when you get a good question or the blog world has a dull day. But for now, saw on Twitter that you took a fall on some stairs. Hope you didn’t do too much damage! Have a super time in Norway. We’ll just have to fend for ourselves here 😉 !
Maybe in May I can restart it when I catch up after my trip. Or if I ever catch up lol.
Shoulder is still sore. It will show more how bad it is after my flight to London. Upgrade to Upper Class not looking good at this point.
AmEx raises the Gold bonus to 50,000 points and cue the affiliate links pimp for the next few weeks! QUICK ACT NOW BEFORE IT COMES AROUND AGAIN IN A FEW MONTHS!
AMAZING DEAL ALERT!!! I just about crapped my pants when I saw it was only this “deal”
I thought about doing a special rant post about this. I just saw so many ridiculous titles it was, well, ridiculous! I think one started “Limited Time Offer”. Really? I thought we were done with these “limited time offers & deadline” posts!
Jehova’s Witnesses vs Credit Card Pumping bloggers: Who is more pushy? Class discuss:-)
Ok, the Amex 50,000 point offer IS better than anything that was out there previously. Fair to write about it. Maybe I’m just getting numb to the affiliate links but as far as posting about credit cards go highlighting this offer seems reasonable, at least for blogs that are responsible and transparent (cough, disclosure, cough).
But here’s what gets me.
Today was a terrible travel day. American’s computer systems went down. Tons of flights cancelled, lots of passengers displaced.
So when TPG does his public service offering advice to people on how to handle the situation, what does he think they should do…?
http://thepointsguy.com/2013/04/5-tips-for-avoiding-hassle-during-the-american-airlines-system-failure-aftermath/
Wait for it…
Wait for it…
There are stranded passengers, people not getting where they need to go, truly inconvenienced people. And we get links for the American Express Platinum, since that comes with American Airlines lounge access!!
Affiliate links in a post on how to handle disastrous circumstances really does seem beyond the pale, doesn’t it?
Other blogs wrote about the American Airlines operational challenges today, I don’t think anyone else had the gall to add affiliate links. What’s next, a feature (probably outsourced to a staffer) on how to churn cards to earn the points necessary to be with loved ones in Boston?
I even got a tweet from TPG starting with “Amazind deal alert” or something like that. The level of pushiness is getting out of control. I think he needs to cut down on staff expenses:-)
I think TPG has gone too corporate and it will dent his income. Fundamentally, if you use a referral link to get an offer no better than the standard offer, you are doing it for 100 per cent altruistic reasons, to reward the blogger. That is why blogs take a ‘folksey’ line, to build a bond between the reader and writer which feels personal and which makes you more likely to reward said blogger.
TPG doesn’t have that feel now. Do you get a warm glow when you use his link, knowing you are helping to pay his publicist and staffers?
This is also, by the way, why people deliberately underplay how much they make. When Gary started taking links he said, basically, I don’t expect to make much but it might help me get an extra vacation a year. In reality, he is probably doing over $100k from the links, on top of the $60k that both Randy and Ben have verbally confirmed is paid in ad revenue to the top 2 BA bloggers, plus the $75k that Gary – in his profile in Chris Guillbauds recent book – said he got from award booking.
Where have Randy and Lucky confirmed the ad revenue, and who are the top 2 BA bloggers? I think the $100 startup claimed Gary’s award booking generated > $100k.
They can never discuss the cc aff revenue. The BA ad revenue can be substantial but it is all based on number of hits/unique views or that sort of metric. It’s a free market,all the power to them. It’s the relentless pushing and affecting the content based on which cc’s we are going to push today. It reminded me many years ago I went to a seminar where the guy from Headquarters was pumping several annuities du jour “If you sell 12 in a single month we will treat you to all expenses paid trip to Bahamas”. True story. Disgusted for life, never went back. I guess I am a little biased against these non transparent non fully disclosed sales practices. Just a little:-)
$100 start up said Gary did $75k in the year the book was done (2011?) and expected $100k in 2012, but as he now has a partner it seemed unfair to quote that figure.
The ad revenue numbers come from Randy personally and a friend who met Ben at Berchtesgaden when he was last there.
TBB: I enjoy your blog and I can’t wait for the full trip report (your affiliate links and all haha) Have a wonderful vacation!
Thank you. I am not sure what form my trip report will take when I eventually get around to it. Eventually is the KEY word in the last sentence;-)
Hola Senior Buzz, Your 2 new best friends, those wacky Free Travel Guys or FTG as they call themselves have only been to 3 countries between them, according to their website. So I guess a travel blog seemed like the logical next step………………your pal Chico ps when in Stavenger be sure to try their famous Lukefish tacos.
So many expert bloggers lately:-) Lukefish tacos, ok!
What do we do when we all have our own travel blog since we once flew to see our aunt in St. Paul? Instead of Flyertalk we will just each have to read eachother’s blogs to communicate.
Yep. did you ever read this? Those failed travel bloggers are the ones who never got going with affiliate links and stuck with online ad revenues only:-)
TPG pushing CC’s in his AA computer outage post
MommyPoints going on a CC affiliate binge in a post about inter-island Hawaii travel (there are more CC links than there are Hawaiian Islands in the post!)
Everybody with the OH MY GOD LIMITED TIME OFFER fake urgency about the Amex Business Gold
Just another day in the world of unbiased and informative blogging
Yep, it is a sad state of affairs indeed! I want to see someone who may say “Please, please I need to pay my mortgage payment/apartment rent/post bail/etc so please my cc links”. That I sure appreciate it business is boring. Of course they at least post that. Beware of the ones who bury it somewhere….you just need to find it yourself, it is YOUR responsibility:-)
Seriously don’t equate a new, better than anything else out there otherwise from Amex, 50k signup bonus with pimping credit cards in a post about stranded AA travelers.
Sure, everyone is writing about the Amex deal, it comes from all sides so feels a little much but it is hard to criticize any individual blogger for it.
But pimping credit cards in a post meant to help travelers in the middle of a travel meltdown feels like profiting off bombing victims. It’s just in truly bad taste, and totally a different league.
I agree, that was a new low! I would blog about it, along with the 50k limited time offer….but I am traveling. They are all spared the TBB wrath lol.
Keep it up guys. Really liking the awareness. Phony CC pushing blogs must die. They may be here to stay, but they must die.
You sound angry:-)
We are all the angries!!!
Maybe you need a therapist like mine. If I refer you to her I get a commission LOL!
Does she take CC? Is she coded as 5X?
Oh, George, you missed a good one today: by churning multiple cards, you too can pay only 120,000 Skymiles each to get to Cambodia! Deal, FTG, deal!
Oh, did we mention that it’s in economy? As the kids said in the 1990s, psych! As they say today, LOL! Look, if you’re enough of a sucker to follow this advice, you’re enough of a sucker to pay that many miles. Nevermind that it’s 67,500 UA miles or 70K AA miles to fly economy, the latter of which can still be achieved in one churn.
I’m going to guess that it was simply the time of the month to be selling/pushing these Amex cards. Amex is probably jealous that FTG is (rightly, in my mind) more and more of a UR guy.
I also got around to reading the disclaimer at the bottom. C’mon, Rick, you can do better than 9 pt type of white text on dark background. I’ll summarize it: “I try to do my best to get you the best deals. I _may_ make money off these sponsors. You _may_ line my pockets clicking anything on this site. Hey, things change fast in this game. Do due diligence.”
So noted.
harvson3/semi-anonymous angry on the Internet
Correction: 65K UA miles ORD to REP r/t.
harvson3
I noted the headline about Cambodia. Thanks for the review, always right on!
You had me laughing with this line: ” As the kids said in the 1990s, psych! As they say today, LOL!”
On the disclosures, come on, it is the READERS’ responsibility to find it:-) Psych LOL.
I am about to attack the dinner page on the menu in the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse now at JFK. I have a head massage in an hour.
#livingthelife
[ In a idiotic clumsy way, I fell down the stairs last night…I took the wrong stairs, instead of going up I went down and down until the wall stopped me! I banged my left shoulder and right hand pretty bad. Thank God for ice packs. The hand appears to be fine but shoulder hurts and I hope it is not too sore after the overnight flight! Flying coach will sure not help it but out of my control so I don’t worry about it ]
This is why God invented Vicodin or, as my wife says, “better health thru chemistry”
Buzz are you an old dude? Falling down stairs…….
I am 45 years old and feel 25. I just had stayed up working on the darn blog, turned off all lights (pitch dark) and then walked…to the wrong set of stairs. First time I did this!
Coach all the way to Norway? I couldn’t do it.
Flights connected to Heathrow. Got upgraded both times, it’s all good:-)