Let’s go on a wild ride through an awesome mistake fare, observe how bloggers found yet another way to sell Chase Ink cards, learn of two new Forums, ponder about how to set up some blogging ethics, learn bow to be a Travel Blogger, travel with the YoGypsys, and check out some insane maps and cool trash art.
TBB Blog Mission: To Entertain. Educate. Inspire. In That Order
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Apparently, there was a giant mistake fare and I was too busy to spend the time to book any of it. Definitely, one of the downsides of blogging. Remember that before you shop at Amazon! If you don’t use my link I will ban you from the comments lol. Poor Alitalia, this may just finish them off! I wonder if that Roberto (or Alberto) or whatever his name was from that Cyprus mistake fare several years ago. Don’t ask me how I blew that one. Maybe I ‘ll tell you in the comments. Mighty Travels was the quickest who extracted it from Flyertalk.
Oh God help us! Expect a heck of a lot more posts about the Singapore Airlines heavenly super amazing out of this world experience Suite Class flights! Of course you can get there now with a Chase Ink credit card. Tune up the Suite pictures! The caviar, the huge flat beds, the food, the caviar, the champagne. You can do this but….you must hurry! The offer ends on June 1st, you are almost there. You can click this! Shoot me, I have seen this movie a gazillion times before!
I had saved all the Chase posts in Feedly and was going to do a special rant here. But I have already spent so much time on producing the rest of the blog post I am just going to delete them and take my own advice to ignore them. The pimping of credit cards just never stops with these blogs! Or I may do a special rant on Saturday. I don’t know, I just make it all up as I go along!
Forums are proliferating now. Saverocity announced its own forums just a few days after Bengali Miles Guru, with the Hack My Trip guys, got his forum up Travel Codex. So we have FlyerTalk grand daddy and its ugly stepchild Milepoint (ugly in relation to content only, it does look better!). I am sure there are others out there. So, to the newbies, as I have warned before, this hobby can easily consume you! Be careful out there, don’t lose perspective of what’s important. Prioritize! Easier said than done, we are losing our minds here at TBB trying to keep up with it all.
Personal Finance Digest wrote “Ethics, Shmethics” with a nice attempt to create some type of ethical blogging practices. The idea was generated in the TBB comments!
I just can not wait for the blog post “Chicago Seminars Speaker: Marathon Man” at Frugal Travel Guy (the blog). Hey MM, careful that Chase Ink ad at the bottom of that post does not hit you too hard 😉
For the readers who have emailed to ask me where is ingy, my answer is I don’t know. He had assured us all that he will be here forever defending his side. I am sensing perhaps his employer had enough? Anyway, I was worried that there was something serious because I do care! It is not as I saw one of his comments telling Pointchaser good job on one of her own posts about…not killing deals! Think about that for a moment, let it sink in. I am certain he reads me daily. We miss you and we wish you well old man, all the best in Chicago.
If you are aspiring to be a true travel blogger, perhaps you should read this post at Young Adventuress: “So you want to be a travel blogger, do you? (HT to Will Run For Miles).
Yomadic just finished the first YoGypsy tour and here is the trip report. We are talking about really good trip reports, not the boring ones you see in the miles blogosphere as a smokescreen to pump more credit cards. Looks like a great time was had by all!
34 Insanely Detailed Maps of the World. By Matador Network.
This artist makes art from…trash. And it is just awesome! At Bored Daddy.
Personal Finance article: “An Artificial Finish Line“. Nothing to do with investing, it’s all about the concept of retirement and how it has been changing. I really loved this guy’s book.
And I leave you with this:
Check out my updated blog lists: Blogs I Love, Blogs I Like, Blogs I Ignore
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TBB
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first
We bow to your majesty. It must feel really special!
I had the worse shower in the DFW Centurion Lounge. The water temp was messed up. From super hot to super cold in a few seconds! Other than that, it was nice 🙂
First!?
We suck at this game
You need to try harder…like Avis 🙂
I guess the points/mile blog saturation level has been reached and we are now progressing to forum saturation instead? The problem with private forums has always been that nobody keeps their mouths shut, it’s amazing to see something posted on one private forum suddenly appearing on another and then it’s on FT and all of a sudden it’s on MMS.
If you don’t want to share a method, I’d recommend not sharing it. Pretty simple advice, but a lot of people seem to get extremely upset when “their” deals get ruined.
Will be interesting to see how the two new public private forums turn out and if they resort to raiding FT with masses of false information to try and get people off their scent (as other private communities regularly do).
The forums = mostly worthless noise.
It’s not the forums, but the pimps who are ruining this game. Go look at the load of codswallop from PointsChaser about responsible blogging and see Angry Ingy praising the post – talk about obscene irony. This after PC was chastised for tweeting how she only spent 45mins at WM loading gcs.
Face Palm x 10
More forums means (for the majority who don’t have time to read them all) more need for blogs to pull it all together!
Hmm.. the editor of a shitty website writing crap on her own website… How surprising. I have my doubts that anyone at Walmart or any other large company would care what she has written on her tiny blog. Put the ego away.
@FFHigh Whether it’s a link to MMS or a tiny site like mine, putting it on WM’s radar by tweeting it directly at them is like calling the airline about a mistake fare.
Hmmm. Imagine if YOU didn’t feel compelled to tweet you spent 45 MINUTES at the WM kiosk – you think you would have rec’d such a tweet in response?
The unbelievable lack of self awareness is breathtakingly stunning. No wonder Ingy congratulated you – you’re both as clueless as it gets.
The difference (and here’s where your comprehension skills might come handy) is I didn’t tweet at Walmart. Or include a link explaining my ms activities. Your pms-induced tweet is not justified under the circumstance.
Anyway, try to enjoy your weekend, kid. This happened a week ago and I suggest you do something productive this weekend than obsess about where I was or what I was doing on my own time.
Reading comprehension skills would really come in handy here. I didn’t write about best blogging practices but how to ms responsibly. Spending 45 minutes at a Walmart, while ridiculous, is not odd if you’ve ever stepped foot inside one, let alone stood in line.
I am done with Walmart 🙂
So am I, such a hassle and rarely worth it. Much like this “P” (aka @Joseph_no) who can’t seem to read very well or is just willfully ignorant.
Wow, I guess I am super lucky. I have used Wally World in three different states in the last week and had nothing but easy experiences. My time from three letter drug store to Wally World to home was less than 15 minutes today. No lines and competent cashiers at both. Winning.
Incredible. 45minutes at the kiosk, then tweet about it, and that’s how to “ms responsibly”? Are you really that oblivious to how ridiculous you sound? And then to write a post about it, criticizing someone else????? Uneffinbelievable.
I don’t understand your bizarre fixation on this lie: 45 minutes in the store, not the kiosk. Can’t put it in simpler terms. Might want to get your eye glass prescription checked or pick up a Hooked on Phonics set with your mile-earning credit card.
One thing is for certain, mark my words.
Wal Mart has the absolute worse watermelons. $3.99 my behind 🙂
Time will tell how it goes with the forums…
Lets give them a chance.
Sounds like 700+ people in the private MS forum at Travel Codex. Private forums work best with smaller groups, at most 25-50 participants. At 700+ I’m not sure what the point is. Might as well just post on FT.
You certainly make good points. At the end of the day, you can’t control people. Time will tell if they succeed. I personally have not made it back to one of them and did not even sign up for the other….If I could clone myself maybe.
I do enjoy watching the development of this space for 15 + years. It is quite fascinating…
Agreed. Total noise. Worse than FT.
I joined the Travel Codex forum and since I am new can’t see the MS section. Does anyone know if there are any other Aussies in there?
Email Matt and ask for an upgrade – pun intended!
“… if they resort to raiding FT with masses of false information to try and get people off their scent (as other private communities regularly do).”
They’re doing what??? I gotta go out more often. Can anyone explain (if it’s not another secret, of course)?
Ingy may be an a-hole but he’s our a-hole. Hoping all is well.
*all
damn iPhone
Everything is smooth. Killing it in amazon, I may get a large cup of coffee today. First blog revenue brought a small cup, then a medium. Now we are almost to large cup levels. All I can say is watch out Internet Brands, at this rate you better add some more zeroes in the buyout offer you will offer me. Ok, please laugh, I am!
Their new offer: 0.0000001 🙂
Darn it decimal point! lol
I know there is a fair amount of Chase-driven incentive that may have come and will come with the Singapore announcement, but the truth is it is an exciting addition to the Chase portfolio. There are some nice spots on their award calendar and it opens up one more way to use the Ultimate Reward points so many have. Now we have a Star airline and Oneworld airline that can be fed from the big three (SPG, Amex, Chase) – always nice to have more options!
Besides, Singapore Suites is pretty awesome! 😉
Yeah, but do we need our eyeballs to bleed with Ink links while the wonders of transferring to Singapore are breathlessly extolled by the pimps?
What P said!
I agree with that part – I’m just saying that the inclusion of them is definitely worthy of taking a better look at Singapore. Of course, anyone that is going to start playing with Singapore already has every Ultimate Rewards earning card there is, so no reason to dwell too long on all the cards :). Some really good comprehensive posts on using Singapore would be nice to have.
There are plenty of comprehensive posts about Singapore already – they’ve mostly been about using MRs for transfers to Singapore. But this new AMAZING development will give the pimps some great new fodder for more cut and paste posts where they can insert as many affiliate links as they can manage.
I was saving in Feedly all the Chase link related posts to do a mega rant this weekend for your entertainment (and mine). But they got to be so many it would take me such a long time to do it. So….I just deleted them all, meaning I ignored them. I eat my own cooking I guess.
If I had a dollar for every Chase link my eyes see every day 🙂
Hey, does anybody know when the 60,000 UR bonus for the Ink cards ends???
BTW, I actually remembered to use your Amazon link to buy a bluetooth barcode scanner today. I hope you put that money to good use!
Rumor is the date is June 1 lol.
Thank you for the support. I will buy coffee at Panera tomorrow!
Let’s not forget More Flyingtalk, Anotherthread, and Sustainable Miles forums!
Any more? 🙂
Hey Georgie Boy, Thanks for thinking of me and your concern. Been hanging out with the other 99.8%. Doing some MS and just lovin’ life.
The blogs are crushing it with the Ink bold (at times I wish I hadn’t sold ;(. Pre saturation levels. Wow. Great card. Great card. And all that big bump for an extra 10K 😉 Can’t wait til August and the extra 5K on SPG. And only two other blogs participating. Nirvana. Wish I was still in year one of the buyout
In all seriousness I quit commenting out of frustration. I had always hoped we could have had some kind of respectful dialog here, but it just wasn’t happening. IB doesn’t tell me what to do in my private life but did point out I was probably increasing your traffic (wow comments sure proved that) and when it became evident, that it wasn’t going to happen, well why bother anymore?
I really don’t like using this word, but the 99.8% does all the time about the “angries” in the hobby. I had hoped we could have been a positive, educating, “one from the left and one from the right” kind of thing, but that just ain’t gonna happen. You warned me over a year ago.
“Haters Gonna Hate”
I think it was really classy of Rick to stay away. When we all got back from CLT there was a bit of smugness about how well it went and some jabs at him, not ‘biting’ and getting drawn into a dumb argument was a very good move.
Rick – also, I spoke with a few guys at CLT that spoke very highly of you to me for what you did for the game. There was a tip of the hat to how things changed towards the end, and we all know the site is different now. But they didn’t forget that you helped people get into this game back in the day.
It’s very easy to jump on the bandwagon, and bash away, so I was impressed that you made such an impact and wanted to pass that along.
I am refraining from inflaming because I am not angry. Full disclosure: I get pissed off at times at blogs who pump credit cards 24/7.
Georgie Boy 🙂
Thank you Matt
Found it interesting that the Alitalia deal, which was available for ~36 hours, only hit the big blogs (or just TPG, per George’s Twitter feed) belatedly. It was a good deal for just a one-way flight to Europe. Are bloggers gun-shy about killing deals, or is being a bank salesperson just that time-consuming?
TBB, “I didn’t have time” is a tough excuse when the deal lasted as long as it did. (It may still be on, and my use of the past tense may be inappropriate.) “It doesn’t work for my schedule” is acceptable, as is “eh, don’t care.”
The problem with MilePoint is the noise to signal ratio, with far too much noise. I stopped posting there once I realized that three conversations were going on: a) small groups of internet friends talking to each other, often about nothing, b) the same questions asked and answered over and over (no, you cannot combine your 10K US Air miles with your 15K United miles), and c) people (some of them genuinely stupid) posting news articles/press releases that just aren’t relevant. (Half of all useful replies there also come from sbm12 / WA alone.)
I’m going to be honest that I’m not wildly optimistic about the Saverocity and HackMyTrip forums, though I joined and I wish them the best. In short, >95% of readers aren’t experimenting with and discovering new MS techniques; they’re students/learners/followers/takers. (Disclosure: I’m a student/learner/follower/taker.) It seems that there will be more advice-taking than advice-sharing; most of us don’t have the time and money to experiment with new MS products and report back. Personally, I’m not about to tie up $500 and have to fight with phone agents on some customer service support network purposefully designed to be bad just so I can provide an “innovation” to an online forum. And while I can see people innovating new MS techniques in order to draw more blog traffic, it’s hard to understand how participation in an online forum could provide similar incentives.
I would be happy to be proven wrong.
Ultimately a forum is what its readers make of it. And there will always be a pull towards something new from people that aren’t innovating, so we will of course get a number of people that aren’t offering a lot.
The people that do innovate and add value by being a positive addition to the forum will move up the ladders and be able to access increasingly restricted zones. In many ways I see my Level 2 access to MS etc as just a proving ground, not really more special than FT or other forums, but it is a chance for people to show what they can offer, and connect with people.
Thanks harvson3 and Matt for your thoughts. Time will tell how these forums go. At this time I am way too stretched to participate meaningfully. Besides, I am too busy answering comments at TBB lol.
Hey Rick-
Rick-
Educate me on this one:
How did your taking card churning onto Nightline fit in with rules 1-3 on PointChaser’s post on stewardship (eg. don’t alert the media, keep a low profile, etc)?
And here’s a related tax question maybe George can help out on: Were Frugal Travel Guy’s cost of the Nightline deal properly allocable to ordinary and necessary business expenses, or were they better listed as Expenses of Selling Business, thus reducing his long-term capital gain?
Good points Sam.
When I mentioned about ingy posting on Pointchaser blog, this is what I meant how to think about it.
Both are getting paid by Internet Brands. One is the founder mailing in blog posts. The other is the Editor. She is keeping her personal blog blogging about stuff she is not mentioning at all in the FTG blog (unless it is a referral link of some sort). The founder had insisted he will never leave my blog hell bent on educating us all. Always making fun of my blog and its comments (hey, over a 100 yesterday and not even one single comment from the former troll!) among calling us all angrys names while pumping credit cards 24/7 (hey, don’;t you think there is something odd about pumping credit cards to the masses and having FRUGAL in the blog name?). So, instead of spending time to engage with readers in their own blog both are spending time writing and commenting on blogs away from their employer.
F me Sherlock
Waiting for the next blog post: Chicago Seminars Speakers: Milevalue Click my links
My 2 cents…about how much this blog brings in $$$ wise and PROUD OF IT because it is phucking REAL.
Thank you all for your support 🙂
Reply to Sam at 8:45 AM. Here is a perfect example of “haters gonna hate”. The Nightline piece was originated by Jon Donovan a blog reader and the ABC interviewer. The churning of credit cards has been going on for years and was never in jeapordy of disappearing because of that piece. In fact it, brought many more into the game that have enjoyed the benefits of discounted travel because of the piece and how it was done. I’ll venture a guess that some on this blog got into the game because of that exposure. It was not the disclosure of a mistake fare, out of whack promo, or short term bonanza. And you don’t see me blabbing about MS do you? In fact Jon suggested this year that Alaska Airlines be a topic of discussion at this years seminars and based on that suggestion, Scott from Hack my Trip will help educate more newbies in Chicago But haters are gonna hate.
As far as the tax implications of the piece to FTG, that is about as stupid a question as one can expect from a hater. I paid for my own gas to drive over to O’Hare to do the interview with ABC. There were no tax implications.
The fact that these types of comments are seldom rebuffed by fellow blog readers or removed by the blog owner, substantiate the opinion of the rest of us in the game, the 99.8% that believe that:
Haters are gonna hate.
I HATE to admit that is reality, but more and more it appears to be true.
Doh, the selfish part of me was afraid AS was going to get more attention with recent devaluations. Thank god there is no affiliate card for bloggers to promote endlessly. I like the AS visa as the quiet little churnable card that is not mentioned much.
“The churning of credit cards has been going on for years and was never in jeapordy of disappearing because of that piece”
Well except that every major credit card manufacturer has tightened up their churning policies over the past few years (even Barclays!), and almost every major currency has had a huge devaluation….. yep, there was no effect on publicizing it to the masses
To answer your question Sam, while Ingy might’ve broken rules 1-3 of the Pointschaser post, it was overridden by rule number 1 of the Ingy stewardship post
1) Do as I say, not as I do
(that’s actually the only rule)
Steve – you said a mouthful. Incredible the amount of idiotic justification offered by Ingy to go on national TV to discuss churning and then say it will only help – the only ones it helps are those who cater to the new round of noobs being taken advantage of by the blogsters preying on their ignorance. The rest of us see the massive devaluations and erosion of benefits – yet Ingy is gleeful because the pimp revenue is going to da Moon!
“Your good credit is my most valuable asset”.
I am again refraining from commenting on this one. For you Linda 😉
+1
At the risk of sounding angry, so George you baited Ingy all week with all the comments about where he is, if he is OK, etc., so you could slam him again? Really? Classy of him to stay away, classy of Matt to point it out and well, not so much the rest of it. Ignoring means just that, ignoring. I do not get it. How hard is that?
I must admit it has been harder than I thought 🙂
Him staying away was the classiest thing he has done in a very long time. Yes, classy of Matt too to point it out, I was expecting nothing less from him (Matt).
Look, I pointed out that ingy was spotted making a comment on the FTG editor’s personal site telling her “good job” for something that would never see the light of day at the FTG blog both are getting paid for. I find that…well, kind of ludicrous actually.
I provide commentary on blogs here. And entertainment. I do not like the FTG blog, sorry. That does not mean I will continue to ignore it. The ignore advice is for readers to ignore the links of these businesses since there are better alternatives who do a much better job for their readers and not assault them 24/7 with credit cards.
He had assured us he will not go away and continue posting here. And also had assured us he won’t be posting in FT and honor us mosquitoes.
Ok, I will talk with my therapist.
Gutless coward/Georgie Boy/mosquito/angry/muchmoreIforgot
Enjoy your holiday weekend and thanks, I am working on it…really.
Rick has made similar commentary on FTG for years. The reason it was published on PC was because it was a response to something a Twitter follower tweeted @pointchaser. That clearly doesn’t belong on FTG.
TBB wrote “I do not like the FTG blog, sorry. That does not mean I will continue to ignore it.”
Then maybe it shouldn’t be on the “Blogs I Ignore” list?
Ariana: I answered this further up above what I meant and where I was coming from. Of course your blog post did not belong on FTG 😉
LauraCMH: Well, here is the deal. Initially, I wanted to call the list “Blogs I Despise”. I asked some readers what they thought of it, whether it was too “angry” or something, they said that it is. Since I DO listen to my readers I had to come up with another name. So, I went with “Ignore”. This does not mean I myself ignore them. TBB reviews blogs and writes about them. I have a bias against mega credit card promoting blogs that give bad advice while pretending to be “experts”. That’s all.
Should I change to “Despise”? I don’t even feel comfortable with that term but it is probably more accurate.
I would like to read your thoughts, thank you.
“Haters gonna Hate”
Wow, check this latest blog post by Yomadic!
http://www.yomadic.com/communist-architecture-romania-parliament-interior/
Yes, this will make the next Buzz post.
“But seriously, Ceaușescu, what an asshole.”
I am firing up the grill this weekend, I suggest you all do and stay away from the blogs! Besides, June 1st is far away lol.
“Can’t wait til August and the extra 5K on SPG. And only two other blogs participating”
False
It might surprise you to find out, but there are actually blogs out there that will give it coverage even when it doesn’t pay them affiliate commssion
Not every blog is as terrible as yours. Just most of the BoardingArea ones.
“Not every blog is as terrible as yours. Just most of the BoardingArea ones.”
Truer words never said.
Why is VFTW outing/slandering that AA auditor? With all his connection with the bigwigs all he needs to do is write a few emails?
It’s the bully thing to do, just like the AA tweeter and the couple in the Maldives and feet on the bulkhead – all posts within the past three months. The VFTW blog has a “you should do what I want” mentality. Yes, everyone has that to some extent; we’re not self-sacrificial.
Unlike most others in this space, Mr. Leff takes non-public actions and makes them public under flimsy pretenses. It differs from Mr. Schlappig at OMAAT with his China Southern review, where he was commenting upon workers in their official capacity.
The moderator of the Flyertalk blog bashing forum asked, “Why is VFTW outing/slandering that AA auditor?”
Why don’t you ask him? I read the post and he didn’t even name the airline let alone the auditor. He asks for readers who may have had similar experiences. What’s your beef?
I don’t think there is any beef. I continue to be surprised by VFTW’s blog posts lately. I do not like it anymore and took it off my “Like” list. I am not saying it will go to the “Ignore” list but…wtf is going over there?
This was yet another scratch my head post. We are talking 3 airlines are left and for sure is not Delta, they just rob you of your miles every time you go book an award and myriad other ways lol. So it is probably…George at AA again 🙂 Shaking my head…
He could still ask his readers about their experiences without making it so explicit imho.
Over the past several months I have been totally surprised about some of the posts!
Oh, by the way, the Chase UR transfer to SQ is instantaneous, WOW. Click my links (for the 987th time)
On that post, commenter #33 (nsx at FlyerTalk) said “What a clever tactic: Post the general outline and rely on readers to name names.” That’s my point.
Mr. Leff’s postings – I mentioned three in my comment – do not have the civility I would like in a leader. If I actually wanted information for a private legal dispute, I’d ask for it to be sent privately. Maybe Boardingarea cannot shut off all comments, but at the very least I’d ask people not to post unverified names and claims.
Mr. Leff is a leading expert in the miles and points space. I would prefer major players act like gentlemen and gentlewomen, not bullies. When I’m in charge of a class, the expectations are not the same as when I’m a student. I act accordingly.
Courtesy is a vain hope in 2014, I know. I’ve posted snarky comments here, but then I’m not in charge and I haven’t drawn first blood and TBB is apparently the place for “angries”. Mr. Leff is in charge; that was the opening public move; and VFTW is not TBB or Milepoint. That’s the difference.
I have no idea why you would say that TBB is the place for “angries”! We are not angry around here, we like to express ourselves and deal with our inadequacies and mental deficiencies and things of that sort 🙂
You bet your preferred part of your anatomy that VFTW is not TBB. We are different. I hate pancakes. I like Southwest. I don’t pump Chase links so often.
We are all in charge of our blogs Sir! The only difference is if banks tell me to do something I tell them to stick it! I LIKE that. They LIKE the money. Yes we are different. I like different, I have always been a little different.
The key is if I can morph and fight the system from the inside like I am doing in my day job.
TBBbornarebelalwaysarebel
I had more to say but Linda is watching 🙂
you hate pancakes? wtf
No beef, just don’t want to add clicks and Page views by commenting on the Blog post.
Ok, I left a comment there. I did it mostly for the backlink lol. Here it is:
Yawn
If I had a dollar for every proposal thrown around in Washington…
There will be no tax for the consumers.
No changes in accounting either most likely. So far down in the priority list is just laughable.
Let’s get back to the Chase links please 🙂
Rick-
Thanks for your reply. I was neither surprised, nor educated. But I continue to be entertained.
Buzz-keep rockin’.
Sam:
This site is primarily for entertainment 🙂
Rock on!
does anyone know the phone number for 1 800flowers.com?
Do Not Call. Applies everywhere other than keeping parents happy.
I just cant reconcile myself – can people be so poor at heart and mind to redeem miles for first class travel to eat food or drink wine served up there? I understand about the other perks like flat beds which might be worth it for long travel, but for food and wine? Taking multiple photos of food served at each airline and comparing them seems so ridiculous to me. And these bloggers are being widely read and praised. Readers even talk about these as something extraordinary. Cant we get better food at lower cost here in earth? Should we be traveling first class for that? These readers are equally poor at heart and mind. And what happened to rationality or pure common sense? My God – these people need some serious psychotherapy sessions with some good doctors (who are again not after food at sky). These bloggers are simply creating a nasty culture without even knowing what disservice they are doing to their fellow countrymen. And no George i am not angry. I cant help laughing at these kind of silly behaviors of people which itself can be taken up may be for a doctorate course in some human psychology study.
A guy posted about his “dream trip” on FT, it was 11 flights in 11 days… Of course, all in F.
Dream for him, a nightmare for me… You are absolutely right, we are becoming a society
of losers, no real values in “real” life, need an escape, flying F and pretending you are a king…
I’m lost, tried to explain it, or even get to understand it… A lost case.
Every day, he goes to his cubical, comes back home, no one to talk to, a game on tv,
chinese food… I guess flying 11 flights in F makes him feel good about himself. A real achievement.
I hope he knows where Kim is getting married… Oops, missed the news, shame on me…
Really, you missed the news. How could you miss the breaking news. Come on go first class (on emirates flying to some place where you don’t want to go) and have a relaxing shower and cocktail and you will get rejuvenated so that you don’t forget important things like these. Also ensure that you get full massage for free in one of those hotels in the desert that you travel. Very important.:)
Haven’t these people heard of Day Spas? I just don’t get why people kill themselves MSing, blow it all on F flights and don’t even do anything meaningful at the destinations. Unless you consider a visit to the F lounge as meaningful?
I’ve wondered this for years. When I first got into this I was really perplexed by the fascination with lounges, hotel bathrooms, and planes. I just wanted to get some place on the cheap. Glad to see I am not alone.
+1000 As someone who traveled around the world with a backpack before points and miles and stayed in youth hostels, I just do not get it. Sure, now that I am not 21, I like more comfort and for long flights, I really enjoy a nicer seat. But it is all about the destination, not getting there for me. If I can find a way to do this with all the tools in my toolbox, all the better. I think a lot of people have really lost perspective. Or never had it in the first place.
Who’s Kim?
Everyone in this hobby needs “serious psychotherapy sessions” if you want to be totally honest about it… 🙂
Andy – Understand where you are coming from and i sort of agree:).
Wait, so people who read through credit card terms & conditions AREN’T normal and healthy? Uh oh.
@Kumar and Andrew, I agree.
Sometimes a seat in Bus is useful (long flight, want to sleep) or a suite can make sense if one travels with a family. But I remain surprised at the bloggers and high flyers who yearn for the frills of F and scheme to get upgrades to enormous suites with more bathrooms, couches and TVs than one or two people need. It actually makes me wonder sometimes what their homes/apartments are like when they are so desperate for a little luxury!
As for the old debate on whether TBB is the home of the angries, I was at the #CharlotteDO and I did not meet even one angry person there. On the contrary, I thought we all seemed genuinely happy to meet, mingle and learn. After mingling in the comments of the blogs we read, it was great fun to mingle in person.
Meanwhile, I am most disappointed in my beloved city here in the PNW where we all have been instructed to boil water due to an e-coli concern! Starbuck’s and Stumptown closed as did some many other establishments. But it was really nice to see folks at the grocery stores self-policing to make sure there was enough bottled water to go around. Still, not a good start to the holiday weekend around here. I sure hope the alert is lifted in the morning.
Drinking water is a basic necessity and i fully empathize with you. May be use this as an escape to fly first class?:) hah, just kidding (but i am sure most of the travel bloggers would suggest you doing that). Hope situation in your place returns to normalcy and you are able to enjoy your weekend.
Some of the best and original sarcastic humour which is essential for normal functioning brain originates in this forum. And we are termed as bunch of angries? My foot. How dare someone say like that? Those people will only go to hell.:)
@Kumar – Thanks for your sympathy re: the water. We are still on water watch this morning; hard to break the habit of just turning on the tap to get a drink. But considering all the billions of people worldwide who do not have access to clean water, our problem is just a drop in a very huge bucket. A personal inconvenience for me yesterday, as I boiled pot after pot of water, and then tried to quickly cool it, to wash the vegies for enough salad for 18 people, but in the scheme of things, a minor blip. The delicious and sympatico potluck dinner we attended and the lovely wine we had there more than made up for the trouble.
I hope no one gets sick since we were all exposed via any water we consumed before the alert was announced and I hope that business doesn’t suffer too much. So odd to see the “Closed” signs on coffee shops and restaurants though some are changing the menu and making due with bottle water. As for me, better go boil up some more 😉 !
“I was at the #CharlotteDO and I did not meet even one angry person there. ”
They lacked the anonymity of the internet. I sometimes think this forum that George has provided to people is what makes them angry. I hope he’s proud.
Amen Laura. It is the only place in the travel hacking space that this behavior happens. It is non productive and brings out the worst in people, It allows people to sound like tough guys. How many “WTF”,” phucks”, ” f’ing this and f’ing that” do you think George puts in his WSJ blog? They litter this blog
Maybe George thinks he is a gangsta or rapper?
I’m glad to see others slowly start to take offense at the language, “hate” and venom spewed here. I tried giving him a little of his own medicine and that obviously didn’t work.
But thankfully it is only about 5 or six commenters here that are “haters”. He could easily clean it up if he wanted to. But obviously doesn’t want it to. He’ll couch it under no censorship, but he loves the hate and supports their comments.
“Haters gonna hate”
oh, I think the old southerner in Ingy came out in this comment. Apparently only rappers and gangsters swear.
Laura: It’s da internet. If you want a sanitized version and everyone self congratulating each other this blog is not for you.
For you to take the time to comment means you must like it over here (even though you say you hate it). 99% of the comments here fit the blog mission: To Entertain. Educate. Inspire. Ignore the 1%.
Thanks for being part of it. I will eat the best looking ribs for you today!
I do like your blog George! I like your commentary. I think you are inconsistent and unfair at times. You will blow it off and say it’s just you, your personal opinion, but you also put yourself forward as holding blogs accountable. I don’t think you’re living up to your own standard.
What’s really sad is what has become of the comments section. Of course it is the internet and it’s great you let people post what they want and don’t censor them. It’s a cop out to end it there though. You encourage it. You could easily encourage better behavior and a better kind of conversation. You could call out commenters who cross a line. You don’t and that’s sad.
You point me to things I wouldn’t have seen otherwise. You point me to some of the better posts on smaller blogs and to some great content from travel (not miles) blogs. That’s a service and I appreciate that you read blogs so I don’t have to go through all of the garbage you will find on so many of them.
I like the content. You can do better. You have gotten worse, and the community around you has gotten worse, than many of the blogs you criticize and your readers snark at. Let’s call it an intervention. I’m a huge fan. I read your blog regularly. I just started commenting. I like to point out blogs doing a good job and teaching me something and also point out who maybe doesn’t deserve the good reputation they seem to have. It’s my opinion of course just as it’s yours and you could be such a great voice for your readers.
Instead you’ve gotten lazy. You snark but don’t apply your standards well. You encourage such garbage in the comments. Such mean-spiritedness. You can dislike things in the hobby without getting so personal and mean and without your readers doing the same. You’re a better person than this blog has been recently. You get a lot of comments? Posting controversial garbage gets comments. Is that the goal? You wnat more comments than ingy has money. Great. Be a better person and deserve it. I like you but I’m also sad for you.
Laura, keep it short and to the point.
Lots of opinions and very little to back it up with.
Are you one of the 5-6 haters that Ingy is talking about?
LauraCMH: Thanks for liking my blog. And for taking the time to write such long comments. It shows me you care. Well, I think you do. Frankly, your comments perplex me but I don’t let that bother me as I am quite full after eating some amazing spare ribs I grilled for the familia and then watched an awesome soccer game. My team lost and got so so close to win it that it almost made me…angry a little 🙂
I respect your opinion. I agree about the positive things about my blog and respectfully disagree on some of your negative opinions. It happens, such is life in the internet. Frankly, I am shocked I don’t get much more push back to what I do here.
Perhaps it’s the blogs that have actually gotten worse Laura. As I have always said, I would LOVE to feature the best blog posts my eyes see every day. But I mostly see a whole lot of pumpy junk that is getting even more ridiculous than I ever dreamt possible!
I have a stronger objection to being called lazy. I think that is wrong. People who know me call me some names but lazy is never one of them! Yes I like to snark, I find it entertaining. There is a lot of that going here. Remember, it’s entertainment.
I am not going to bother responding to the rest of your comments.
“you encourage such garbage in the comments”
“such mean spiritedness”
“getting so personal and mean”
“you want more comments than ingy has money”
” I like you but I’m also sad for you”
clueless in
columbus
where have you been all this time Luara CMH? You are the mean spirited one along with the old dude. You tell Buzz he has gotten lazy? That make no sense at all if you have been reading this site for awhile. WTF!! Is this Ingy in drag?.
Out of all her comments the one that bothered me the most was being called “lazy”. Actually, the only one!
Like I said, I am surprised my blog does not get more haters or trolls. It’s all right. it livens up the comment section and I think it increases the entertainment factor. It’s all about the mission, the mission, the mission.
Those ribs I grilled today were awesome!
@Laura – no, you’ve got it backwards. Everywhere else the lawyers and “brand managers” are out there “sanitizing” their sites so the almighty advertising executive can’t find any reason for offense. George isn’t prostrating himself for a few lousy shekels like a beggar to a noble – unlike the hundreds of pimps who infest the space. He isn’t selling himself out, isn’t putting out crap and taking advantage of noobs just so he can line his pocket and avoid a “real job”. It’s sleazebags who pimp incessantly to noobs who are the real scum. But since they are all busy sanitizing their blogs to keep that affiliate income rolling in, you don’t get “angries” on their sites, because they “proudly censor”. Instead you get one pimp congratulating another about what a great job they are doing. WTF
Point proved. George could call this out (not censor it). But he doesn’t.
Amen. Been saying it for months. He can’t or won’t control of his own blog for its own good. Glad others see the same thing.
Censoring comments is the worst thing that one can imagine in a democratic country and that too in the Internet. Are we having an emergency rule or what? Every reader has the right to say what they want, including you. One can at the most request like i do – Better stop this censorship nonsense. This is getting irritatingly ridiculous.
And there is nothing wrong done here by the readers to call them out by names like a school teacher calling out names of students. You bunch of jokers are some school head mistress or what? Keep this cancerous nonsense outside this blog that we all love.
Yawn.
I have made my views about censoring numerous times before.
P: You can make your points (which I think are valid) without the names. But I am no Kim Jong-uno to zap them like some others do because their sponsor made them so.
I now need to pick some pictures to go along with the gems 🙂
Saturday morning at TBB comments. Hey Ariana I told you so 🙂
Linda: You see what I am talking about? 😉
Gangsta rapper TBB now LOL
I am at Panera reading TBB comments and grateful they exist. I mean in some other blogs there is nothing but credit card pumping, bad advice and no comments.
Haters gonna hate indeed.
Got the ribs out overnight and very soon it is time to grill baby.
As a pure coincidence, I am listening to a youtube song by an obscure Greek punk band back in the 80s growing up there. The title “Blood and revenge”. I think they were a little angry back then as I was dealing with my teenage angst and pressure by society to conform to their hypocritical sell out ways 🙂 The name of the band was: No Way Out. Lol.
I say Go Grill and stay away from da internet, it is so full of people of all walks of life expressing themselves.
Now let me go apply for 7 credit cards at once because I am a rookie traveler and own a business. If I did not have a business it would be only five credit cards to apply at once, phew.
I hear you George, and it’s your blog. But I consider you a friend. Be very careful not to make yourself look worse than your resident troll. It shouldn’t be hard, but it takes discipline not to respond to full frontal attacks, and not to invite his participation because you are bored and want entertainment.
Will I still be a friend if I choose some of the troll’s comments as Gems? I think my readers will be entertained. I mean, nobody called me gangsta rapper before?
I am having a difficult time pondering this. I am serious…
I am patiently awaiting the release of the long awaited TBB gangsta rap music video. Stay up all night, rent out a Panera, do what you have to do. Just get it done.
Working on it…ThereisaratinmykitchenwhatamIgonnado
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iuH2fpbHbg
HI from Panera, hazelnut coffee masss.
Enjoy the weekend!
Enjoy the weekend too!
@ Kumar, Andy, TWA44, Andrew, Tara:
Did you notice how a beautiful conversation was hijacked by “angries” lol?
I am not going to pass judgments on how people burn their miles/points. But I agree this hobby can use some good psychotherapist to treat us all. Maybe we can bring one to the next milemadness meeting and have him/her give us 30 minute sessions. LOL.
I have been at this for a long time and I have come full circle (while avoiding the full first class elite must have it mode somehow). But for several years I was obsessed with status and would feel so depressed not clearing an upgrade (which rarely happened). There is something about turning left instead of right when you get on a plane. You do get that sense of superiority and then depressed feelings when you are made to join the “cattle” class. You start losing the whole perspective and stop being grounded. Personally, I decided this, to me at least , was really a bunch of crap and, with the new airline realities, playing the elite game simply does not make any sense at all for me (and most others, except true road warriors). I cringe when others make disparaging remarks about flying Southwest. A domestic flight is just not going to kill you period! It’s nice to fly in Business to be more comfortable in international flights of course but give me a low fare (like the one to Milan) and will fly it any day (nope, did not manage to snag one, boo). And then you wonder why United’s Smisek called us people “entitled”? That was probably the only thing he got right lol.
Having said that…I am going to enjoy my First Class trip to Hong Kong in October. Time for me to experience what the Luckys of the world experience so often. It’s a treat me kind of trip to unload some excess miles before they get devalued again. And no I won’t be taking pictures of airline food and selfies in lavatories.
The other point is…some people in this hobby are true aviation geeks. As are true train geeks. Whatever pleases people. It’s cool.
Final point, and most important (to me at least) is this: Flying first class and all the “goodies” that come with it is very IMPORTANT for MARKETING bloggers’ brand! I mean, would people read MMS or GL or Lucky if they did not have pics with flat beds, champagnes, caviar and onboard showers? HELL NO! Helps the brand and sure helps to sell credit cards. In a way I liked UA’s move and Delta’s continued moves to bring revenue based ways to the industry. Why? Because it will democratize award burning and spare us all from more stupid pictures of some airline first class food and sleeping in flat beds and instead make us all thankful for flying for free in coach where we really belong lol. Up front should really belong to the true road warrior whose company keeps flying him/her internationally and paying the premium fares,they deserve it. Not us doing credit card churning and MS stuff. So, grab all you can I guess now that we still can.
I need more coffee.
And not even one WTF in this comment. WTF is up with that LOL.
GL and Lucky posted pictures of first class cabins long before there was any revenue in this hobby. This is what I’m talking about. You know better. It’s fine to say they benefit from it now, but when you know they were doing it even before why do you have to slam their motives? It’s enough to say the food and pajamas or whatever aren’t for you, and that you’re insane for not liking pancakes, and criticize if a blogger doesn’t diclose their financial interest or promotes an inferior product (not something I see either do, but you would know better than me). Why have this theory of their psychologies and motivations? Are you a psychotherapist?
Next time i think they must also review the toilets, toilet seats, toilet doors, how well the toilet locked, the great airflow in the toilet, great reusability of the toilet, how many times they used the toilet, guide on how to use the toilet with photos and videos if possible. These are absolute necessity to the entire humanity because most of us haven’t seen or used the toilets at 30k+ feet or so. When they can post photos of ice cream and personal gift bag items and all such nonsense in their wonderful inflight reviews, they are doing great disservice to the fellow travel community, airlines that manages to fly them for free and even the banks by not doing full justice to their review by excluding toilet review. Forgive me if they have already done that, and i request George to delete this post as a way to pardon my ignorance.
Like I said, I have been reading these guys since they started blogging. Doing the First Class luxury trip is their brand so nothing new there. They have developed a very large following. Not my cup of tea but it is obviously the cup of tea of many. C’est la vie. But looking at Scott’s list below it pretty much tells you the ever increasing bias toward the same freaking cards that pay them. That’s all. Enjoy the holiday weekend!
those are very mean spirited comments CMH or should I say Ingy?
Doc: I checked the IP, it is not the same person.
@ LauraCMH: For the record, I am not a psychotherapist.
Yes I have been reading Gary and Lucky since day one they started. And %*R$#@#, ooops, sorry I just got hit by another Chase Ink link and lost my train of thought.
I think my points are correct. You do not agree. C’est la vie. Thanks for letting me know.
Nice analysis and some good practical pointers, as usual, George. By the way, heck, i have started spending more time to read this blog than family:)
that hurts me, it is NOT worth it. Turn off computer. Go outside. Grill some ribs or veggies:-)
thanks for the mention George.
so, to change the topic… one thing that’s true – I have so much information that I’m always processing in this frequent flyer world – that sometimes I forget something basic. Does that happen to others?
Point in fact, I was looking for flights for my return trip home from Tokyo (I booked the JFK-MXP PRG-AMS-NRT mistake fare – isn’t there a better name for that deal?) and was about to book an award with 25K AA miles on HA in Y… Not terrible, Not great. HND-HNL-JFK. But I totally forgot that JAL awards are available with AA miles, but don’t show up on the website! The AA representative reminded me of that when I phoned trying to find the record locator on a booking I had on hold. Voila – I can fly home non-stop on JAL in J for 50K AA miles.
Kathy, this totally happens to me. I keep hoping someone will produce some sort of index to stuff like this. Now that would be content with value! But the writer/librarian in me knows it is a massive undertaking. Glad the AA rep knew 😉 !!
Massive indeed. Switch airports and you would need an entirely new list of sweet spots.
I think there is SO much to learn in this hobby that is a major factor why it is easy to get hooked! It’s so challenging that sometimes, as you state, you forget some things you SHOULD have known…It has happened to me many times 🙂
Youtube still didn’t remove the video by the Santa Barbara killer. Incredible. Lonely, desperate for attention, feeling worse… Will get many followers for sure….
Woke up to this news. So sad. Followed later on NPR by an interview with the retiring principal of Columbine HS who is credited with helping that community heal. He sadly uses his expertise when he parachutes into Virginia Tech and Sandy Hook. And maybe now UCSB. So very sad.
Yeah I finally caught up to this tragic event. I am anti gun, there are too many out there. I also understand the argument of the pro gun lobby and I disagree with them. Sadly, this will continue. I feel for the parents. Before I became a parent I always felt that the parents must have done some major things wrong. Now that I have a 16 and 11 year old I think differently. You can do only so much to raise them well but they still will become who they are going to be…Ok, I am about to nap…not sure if what I wrote even makes sense 🙂
+1 Makes a ton of sense. Totally agree.
WTF is up with the old man Ingy
WTF is up with LauraCMH
WTF is up with Kim!
I want to clarify one thing:
I just hate the sin. I love the sinner.
Ok.
Sins can be more fun you know 🙂
@LauraCMH: You said: “They lacked the anonymity of the internet. I sometimes think this forum that George has provided to people is what makes them angry. I hope he’s proud.”
Actually, I found that in CLT, when people introduced themselves, it was not unusual to hear “I am So-and-so on FT and I comment on Milenomics using that handle or This-and-that” or “I post on Saverocity under LMNOP and my twitter name is QRST.” People were open about where they lived, what they did for a living, etc. I guess there could have been a few angries skulking about being anonymous but I sure didn’t notice them. Indeed, it was quite the opposite – people were exchanging emails and twitter names and such, to be sure they could stay in contact.
As for the sarcastic comments that do show up here, they tend to highlight something that is indeed an issue in the travel hacking/MS/points ‘n miles blogging community. I enjoy Steve’s satirical take on the way some bloggers practice their craft but I do not see myself as an angry. And I credit George’s blog to helping me sort out the wheat from the chaff when I was a newbie. I supported the development of the FT forum on travel bloggers and I think I actually made my way to TBB from posts there.
Yes, George should be proud. But not for making people angry. Rather I hope he is proud for fostering a community that has high standards and believes there is more to blogging than reeling in noobs who will reward the blogger with lots of affiliate clicks. But create angries? No way.
Have a good holiday weekend!
“As for the sarcastic comments that do show up here, they tend to highlight something that is indeed an issue in the travel hacking/MS/points ‘n miles blogging community. I enjoy Steve’s satirical take on the way some bloggers practice their craft but I do not see myself as an angry. And I credit George’s blog to helping me sort out the wheat from the chaff when I was a newbie. I supported the development of the FT forum on travel bloggers and I think I actually made my way to TBB from posts there.”
Steve is funny!
Don’t excuse the hate because they’re onto something, be onto something while being a decent person. George’s blog has done some good, much less lately, he needs to take a look at that. I care, I’m sad about the past month or so.
Laura, why dont you give your actual feedback on what went wrong with George’s blog. I dont see any change from what it was a month ago. The pointers to excellent articles has continued to be good, his humour has never gone down even during his criticisms, he doesn’t seem to get too personal though he wants to rip apart the nonsense that is going on with the so called travel blogs, his collection of photographs continues to be good and he is the only blogger taking time to respond to all the comments promptly. Well, i dont see anything has changed in this blog, though i am only two months old to this blog. He has taken up a nice mission and he seems to clearly define the boundaries within which he wants to operate. I see no change and that is good for the travel community at large. This blog and its readers through their comments seem to have added so much value to all the participants by their sheer humour and clear vision. If i feel depressed or pressured after work, all i need to do is read this blog. One source for all entertainment in the travel community.
So, George. I have written so much in praise of you just because we all love you. So make sure to include this comment as part of your weekly gem collection:):).
You’re sad about the past month or so on TBB? That has got to be a joke. Lets take a look at VFTW for the past month (well 24 days)
VFTW:
NOW Is the Time to Get a US Airways MasterCard 40,000 Point Signup Bonus
50,000 Bonus Points is Back for the Lufthansa MasterCard
ACT QUICKLY: Limited Time Increased Bonus for Chase Ink Cards
Earn Fast With the Best Credit Card Category Bonuses
Can You Get More Than One Chase Ink Card?
What Not To Do In Paradise (pictures of people on their phone)
The Top 10 Ways to Spend Points from the Limited-Time Ink Bonuses
When Will the Great 60,000 Point Ink Offers Disappear?
Here are The Best Credit Card Signup Offers With the Biggest Bonuses Right Now
Act Soon: 60,000 Point Chase Ink Offers Now Expected to Disappear May 31
Why You Should Get the US Airways MasterCard Now
If You Were Going to Get One Card from Each Bank…
End Date for 60,000 Point Bonus Ink Offers Confirmed
Chase Increases the Value of Its Points With a Fantastic New Airline Transfer Partner
Is There a Rogue Airline Employee Shutting Down Frequent Flyer Accounts Without Reason?
How about MMS?
MMS
60,000 Point (~$600) Bonus on Chase Ink Plus & Ink Bold!
Reminder: It’s 1st Friday – Get 3X Points at Restaurants With Chase Sapphire Preferred
Credit Cards for New Immigrants (I love this one, Welcome to America! Click my link)
Can I Get the Sign-Up Bonus for the Chase Ink Plus If I Already Have the Chase Ink Bold?
Get 2 Free Nights and 50,000 Points With the New Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Business Card
The Benefits of Business Credit Cards
70,000 Ritz-Carlton Points & up to $400 in Statement Credits
Top 10 Chase Ink Card Benefits: More Than Just the Increased Bonus!
What’s Considered a Different Card Product?
When Will the Chase Ink 60,000 Ultimate Rewards Point Offers End?
New Method: Evolve Money Now Accepts Credit Cards to DIRECTLY Pay Utilities, Loans & Mortgages!
The Southwest 50,000 Point Cards (~$710 in Travel or $500 in Gift Cards) Are Back! (actually they never went away but now you get paid)
It’s Official: Chase Ink 60,000 Point ($750+ in Travel) Offer Ends June 1, 2014
My Favorite Current Credit Card Sign-Up Bonuses
The 40,000 Mile Barclays US Airways Card Won’t Be Available for Long
Fact is, there are fewer and fewer points blogs that haven’t turned into flat out infomercials for credit card companies. Do I chagrin these guys for making a living off of this? Hell no, this is America.
But you know what else is America? Finding a forum for me to bitch about it. So you and Ingy can disparage George and all the angries on here as much as you want, but bitching about shit you don’t like is as American as whoring credit cards and taking advantage people who don’t know any better. We all have our place. God bless America.
Lastly, for comparison’s sake, here is the last month on a blog written by some guy named Drew
7 Best Unique Travel Destinations
A Guide to ANA Miles – Don’t Miss This!
Which Hotel Loyalty Program Should I Choose?
Analyzing Travel Costs From Full-Time Travel (So Far)
The New Best Use Of AA miles (why you don’t need the explorer chart)
How Could A Mistake Fare Be More Odd?
Top Ancient Ruins (getting there for free)
Excellent comparison, Scott.
Well, to keep your chase affiliate link you need to sell 50+ cards each month. To Stay on the good side of BA you have to write 5 Blog entries a week. That explains the flood of BLA happening. I guess no one is forcing anyone to read it. I don’t.
@TWA44: I completely agree with you 🙂
@LauraCMH: We both agree Steve is funny! I say do not hate and be decent at all times. %^**^%%N Ouch, got hit by another trifecta of Chase Ink links at Mommy Points who did not have anything better to do this weekend but was just dying to tell us how her Chase UR points transfer to Singapore Airlines went! Serenity now…Or what Kumar said:-)
@Kumar: Thanks a lot. I will try to sqeeze one in one of the Gem blog posts 😉
@Scott: THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And God Bless America!
@Oliver2002: So it is 50 and 5? (50 Chase credit card sales and 5 blog posts a week). Of course you guys should not read it. But I do because I bring you the Travel Blogger Buzz. It’s all about the Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I wonder how many chase links were unleashed in cyberland while I was typing replies.
Atletico was so so close 🙁
Laura-
Welcome to Travel Blogger Buzz comments.
If I may, let me just point out that if being a better person made you money, then Drew would not be able to say he’s broke. Well, he could, since he’s a blogger, but not in that way.
Ok, just had to get that off my chest.
Excellent point Sam, excellent point.
Sadly, in online marketing, pumping pays. So, my goal has always been to help the bloggers who work hard and add value to their readers instead of the ones who work hard to continue pumping credit cards to their readers day in and day out.
Most of the good bloggers also have affiliate links but do NOT pump every day. Why is that? Is it just greed? Why Drew feels bad for adding a credit card link that pays him to the body of a blog post when some “travel” bloggers in this space don’t blink an eye dropping thirty of them in one post? Using tactics such as censoring posts that point out the errors in the blog post, using family members to pose in pictures holding cards, finding every little excuse they can out of thin air so they can pump another credit card link (grandmother’s death, wow!) and some just never do that (they are all in my Love/Like list by the way…except for Dan who has always been on the pumpy side but he does not get to the low point of using family members to insert links!).
Anyway, things to ponder I guess. I think it’s greed. Reaching for the “American Dream” in any way possible. In my business there are guys out there who are raping gullible consumers to score that big commission selling the absolutely worst junk of “investment” products they would never buy themselves or sell to their mothers…I must admit I am extremely biased against these people.
And TBB is my baby to let that frustration be expressed while doing it to Entertain. Educate. Inspire.
Ok, my girls want to try this new restaurant offering French crepes. I looked at the menu online. Looks expensive but hey, I am taking one for the team…again. I even did a small part in cleaning the basement, hooray!
@Laura, you said in your reply to me: “Don’t excuse the hate because they’re onto something, be onto something while being a decent person. George’s blog has done some good, much less lately, he needs to take a look at that. I care, I’m sad about the past month or so.”
I read TBB everyday and I have been doing so for about a year, and I have no idea what you are referring to re: the last month. I am not going to say anything else because many folks have already made the points most eloquently above.
In the last month, many of us were able to tell George in person how much we like the blog and the community of commenters that has grown up here. I say: George, keep up the good work!
I am not real fond of cursing and especially cursing in writing, but I just figure that on some level it is “boy” stuff and also a way to get across a point dramatically, when tone of voice is no help. Similar to using multiple exclamation points or question marks. So I overlook it. It certainly won’t keep me from reading. But if things here offend you, you can choose to not read the blog or perhaps ignore the comments. You can always quickly scan the blog for links and photos without really reading the full text. Your call.
On other topics, we can now drink the water!!!! I am ready to toast that with something more powerful 😉 !
Hey George, I saw those ribs on Twitter – can you email me some? 😉 They looked yummy!
I am not much of a cook but I do enjoy grilling spare ribs!
Thank God for water, awesome!
I am also perplexed about “the last month” thing. But I get over stuff like that quickly. I know, it comes with the territory.
I am going to try to reduce the swearing which I almost never do in real life. Yes I do it mostly to get my point across, similar to exclamation marks 😉 I must admit I always enjoyed saying WTF online, I think it’s funny. Now Dr. Peter Venkman likes it too lol.
Off for some expensive French crepes. Taking another one for the team hehe
@lauraCMH says she feels bad about the content here for the last month or so….IMHO the content here the last month or so is the same as the last year and a half as far as I can tell…..Someone tell Ingy that TBB is not a STD.
I feel bad for all the poor eyes of the bloggers who pump their readers with the Same Chase Ink card links day after day, blog post after blog post. That is all I feel bad for and I agree it has gotten really bad over the last month 🙂
I also feel bad that I ate too much today: ribs and then topping it off with a ridiculously expensive mega calorie of a bomb crepe.