ON MY MIND
Weekends are so slow. So slow in fact I took some time to do a review of the May 2013 issue of the Inside Flyer magazine.
MILES/POINTS
Mommy Points shares her FTU presentation. Here is a direct link to the Powerpoint slides.
Pizza in Motion wrote “American Airlines Testing Out New Paid Domestic Upgrades To First Class?” I expect to see more of this type of moves. Beware your upgrades you entitled Elites (they are the same everywhere). I am so done with mileage runs!
Heels First wrote “American Still Doing Executive Platinum Status Challenges For United 1ks“. I liked the details of the emails back and forth, makes it a more realistic endeavor. I miss my Delta Platinum Elite days…not really.
TRAVEL
Incredible HD video “Death Valley Dreamlapse 2“. First found at Gadling. WOW!
Aerial Photos of the World’s Most Beautiful Places by Yann Arthus-Bertrand. From Bored Panda. Mega & Multi WOWs!!!!!!!
Have you heard of the sport Canyoneering? Me neither. The Adventure Blog shows us what it’s about, watch the stunning short video!
Top 50 Travel Blogs. According to Cisionblog anyway.
ODDZ & ENDZ
Very disturbing video of another plane crash, this time of stunt plane in Spain.
FTU sucks. You know it. You’ve posted about it. And yet you still post when someone posts about it. Why?
The presentation slides have some good info a reader may benefit, that’s all. It’s not a science, it’s an art:-)
FTU does not suck. Newbies get a lot of info. Veterans get a lot of networking & socializing done. If you follow the blogs there is really not that much for you in the presentation sessions. Having 2 FTUs and 1 Chicago Seminar is an overkill. But I digress.
TPG is probably the biggest credit card pimp (FTG just phones it in these days, writing once a week for a site he cashed out on big time, so he no longer really competes for the title).
Perhaps the biggest competition, then, that TPG has is Delta Points.
There’s a big font link to the Delta Amex at the bottom of EVERY post.
And this morning is just a list of links to 50k signup bonus credit cards, with virtually no value-add analysis.
Here’s what he has to say about Ink Bold/Plus, “Here is the thing, you can HOLD both of these cards at once. If you have the BOLD there is no reason for you not to, right now, go for the PLUS or vice versa.”
Yep, get both of them RIGHT NOW, there is NO REASON NOT TO.
He lists the Lufthansa card without noting it is not the best offer that pays him.
He lists the Marriott card without noting 50k Marriott points barely count in a list of cards offering 50k signup bonuses (50k Marriott points are worth nothing near 50k Chase points). And also without noting that the 50k offer that pays him isn’t as good as the 70k offer (https://creditcards.chase.com/a1/marriottpremier/70p1ksh/ in case he ‘didn’t know about’ that one and needs a link .. I’d leave it on his blog, but he censors comments).
What does his list of 50k offers have in common? All of the links pay him. Not a single 50k offer listed which does not offer him ka-ching. Where’s the Mercedes-Benz American Express Platinum card?!@!
And guess what? No disclosure in the post. Of course there isn’t.
Pathetic.
I agree:-)
I started doing a “rant” post posting my comments for every blog post I see. You know, similar to what I used to do when I first started this blog. Well, guess what…the post is now massive…this whole arena is a circus for a giant credit card pimping feast. It has become so pathetic that it is unbelievable.
I thought about it posting it but the material is just over burdening me…If I ever post it, I will post your comment as is as I think you are right on!
Fascinating too that the eye-popping ka-ching linkfest over at Delta Points contains not a single reader comment either criticizing the practice or pointing out better offers. I’m SHOCKED that none of the Delta Points readers are aware of better offers for some of these cards than the ones he presents. Oh, wait. Maybe they are. Maybe they just aren’t allowed to have their comments displayed, or else Delta Points might not get paid? Nah, that couldn’t be it.
Are you angry? Take personal responsibility!
🙂
Add RomsDeals as another blog that promotes the 50k Lufthansa card without mention of the better (lower $2500 spend requirement) offer that doesn’t pay referral fees.
So far I’ve seen only MMS and VFTW provide links to the $2500 minimum spend offer.
Pathetic.
What’s a RomsDeals? I just thought that was the name of the guy who often gets yelled at for self-promotion in MMS comment threads.
The 50k Marriott is the most inexcusable.
With regards to the defense that the non affiliate LH Barclays might lead to a lower amount: that’s not really a defense. The lower amount is for pepple who don’t wualify and who presumably don’t qualify for the affiliate linked card. So the option for someone in that spot is 5k for a hard pull vs. zero for a hard pull. And it’s Barclays so probably churnable. I don’t see how this defense should make one not offer the non-affiliate link, even with blaring caveats.
harvson3
Add Lucky as one in the ‘good’ column including a link to the $2500 minimum spend offer that doesn’t pay him.
Mommy Points is in the ‘good’ column on this one, too.
But check out CFTW — he points out that even the affiliate link $5000 minimum spend offer risks getting the lesser Platinum version of the card, and concludes that there is no reason other than kicking back referral income to a blogger that you would want to take the $5000 minimum spend version.
That seems the most accurate and honest portrayal of the offer from any blog yet. And his post about the differences in the offers did not even contain an affiliate link…
Yes Gary had the best post at this, kudos to him.
This card offer highlights, in a great way, who is greedy & respects their readers…
It is a very sad state of affairs indeed:-(
Amusing to read that the Top50 blogger list made no mention of Gary or Lucky or in fact, no BA or IB blogger.
Perhaps that’s why they all need to convene for a 2day Pow wow!
It’s just a silly list. Probably a bias against miles and points. But even then, it includes Jared Blank’s Online Travel Review. Look at the rest of the blogs on that list. It’s all about travel for people who don’t know anything about travel. And some pretty dusty, full-of-cobweb sites. List wasn’t worth linking to.
The reason I posted it was to show that such lists are so subjective! Every time I see a list like this I wonder WTF! But it did have some new blogs I was not aware of and I added to my ever growing Google Reader list.
I still say it was worth linking to so readers can see that Boarding Area blogs are not god like:-)
A country road. A tree.
Evening.
ESTRAGON:
The bed was very comfortable.
VLADIMIR:
There was also an iPhone charger, but it stopped working soon after we arrived.
ESTRAGON:
There was a large flat screen TV.
VLADIMIR:
We also had a patio.
ESTRAGON:
It looked new and the woodwork made it very warm.
VLADIMIR:
The shower was average.
ESTRAGON:
A large free standing bathroom cabinet was by the door.
And there you have it:
Trip report masquerading as Tripadvisor photo essay / absurdist spectacle with an embedded critique of late capitalist consumerism and ironic subversion of every and all form.
I tell you George, those kids are just operating on a different plane than you and I are.
harvson3
“it was worth linking to so readers can see that Boarding Area blogs are not god like”
for sure!
in fact only probably 4-5 are even worth reading at all.
and at least the two with the most traffic, Lucky and VFTW, don’t really benefit at all from being on boardingarea
they draw readers, and spill traffic over to the other (crappy) blogs.
that’s the value of boardingarea to most of the bloggers, gary’s and lucky’s sloppy second (readers).
the two of them, plus frequent miler (much more of a niche audience, though a great blog), would get readers regardless.
unfortunately delta points and that guy who pushes membership rewards ‘pay with points’ get extra clicks. and extra ka-ching. as a result.
harvson3: Which post are you referring to?
Anonymous at 9.36 am: I really agree. Those three can do fine on their own. But if they went out on their own they then MUST worry about hitting quotas and keeping the affiliate Bent Offer connection. It’s much better taking advantage of the BA umbrella.
All the others in the umbrella are milking it:-)
@TBB I think you have it backwards. VFTW and to a lesser extent Lucky and maybe Mommy Points CREATE the umbrella, the whole point is that the big blogs don’t have quotas for all intents and purposes since they – by virtue of their traffic – simply have enough volume already not to worry about it.
That’s the new play Emily and Daraius go to Maui. Which post of the series? It doesn’t really matter – it’s a play in many acts.
It works as high modernist absurdism in any post. Witness:
VLADIMIR:
The selection of activities is much better than in Bora Bora, and they are much cheaper as well.
ESTRAGON:
I went out to look for sea turtles around the rocks by our hotel, but I did not see any sea turtles.
VLADIMIR:
The waters can be dangerous because they are deep.
ESTRAGON:
Little did we know that the submarine was underwater….
To quote the Guardian’s original review of the 1955 play:
It “is a play to send the rationalist out of his mind and induce tooth-gnashing among people who would take Lewis Carroll’s Red Queen and Lear’s nonsense exchanges with the food as easiest stuff in the world. the play, if about anything is ostensibly about two tramps who spend the two acts, two evenings long, under a tree on a bit of waste ground….”
We’re in the presence of genius, George, and it wears a bowtie.
harvson3
You crack me up!!
Thanks for the time lapse Death Valley video! I paced a friend in the Badwater 135 race there a couple of years ago (a 135 mile running race from the floor of Death Valley to the portal of Mt. Whitney) and really loved it. It really is a beautiful place to experience from the ground.
I think the Death Valley video was one of the best I have ever posted here. Glad you liked it. Thanks!
Regarding the 2 plane crash videos. I am still wondering how on earth the guy with video cam in Afghanistan does not say a peep while a plane crashes a few feet in front of him. Does being in a war zone make you so accustomed to things like that? The crash in Spain shows the expected reaction in the crowd.
I also wondered about the same thing!
Surprising people are still coming to this blog. I clicked to see if Buzz was doing his usual brotherly blogger pimping about how cool disclosures are but no link to “MMS is great, look at his warning post today!!!!!” etc yet?
On the plus side, people are laughing behind your back for the several weeks of successful priming of the readership for upcoming referrals/affiliations so you are getting some notoriety which is far more important in this hobby than getting interviewed on Fridays.
Remember the key to overcome public acerbity is to look yourself in the mirror and say these things to yourself over and over till the brain is conditioned to believe it is naturally true
1) I am doing this for my family.
2) I put in a lot of time so I must be compensated.
3) I am doing the world a favor by helping them to travel for free(insert your “funny sarcasm” that travel is actually not free. See funny….)
4) As long as I disclose, I am not going to be called a CC pusher.
5) Deals are meant to be killed. So why not publicize it for those who are lazy and help these people also travel for free.
Ka Ching.
There is a lot of truth in your post.
For me:
1) I am doing this to lower my therapist’s bills. My family is missing me:-)
2) I put in a lot of time and I have not been compensated. It’s okay…not sure until when. If I ever go that route, it will be like Frequent Miler does it! And I won’t throw a MV move on you guys;-)
3) Travel is not free. End of story.
4) Disclosing is part of the equation of course. ONe thing you must do up to now is NOT call me a CC pusher!!!
5) If you are looking for the deals to be revealed here it ain’t going to happen probably.
I have no doubt many bloggers have said all the things you stated in front of their mirror!
There are CC pushers and then there are CC pushers…if u know what I mean!!!!
Thanks for taking the time to comment and read my blog. If you like please ask your friends to book mark it…so they can travel for free too LOLOLOLOLOL
George, It’s time to add the CC links to your posts. When you do, more people will come over here and read AND complain.
As for the link to Mommy… I love her postings. I really do. When I took a look at the power point, I realized she’s talking to first timers.
Even then, first timers need to read, re-read, and read again until they ‘get it’. I can’t imagine how boring these universities are to old timers. I know I can pick up a tip or two, but hang out for multiple days to do it? I’ll pass.
I’ll stick to local dinners in NY, or where ever my travels take me.
P. S. with one exception, I skim the blogs. Insert wink here.
dhammer53
I think you have a point. I just don’t have the time to look into that complex field…I am barely keeping it together. One day maybe…no rush. I move like a turtle.
FTU like events are awesome for networking/socializing for old timers. That’s all.
Thanks for the compliment:)