Mr Money Mustache wants to sell you credit cards so he can stay retired, we finally see a blog leaving Boarding Area and other stuff like that.
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This Blog Buzz Edition covers blog action October 12 – 13 on a first Junk in, first Junk out basis. This is intended to be mostly satire! If you were the subject of satire at SNL and you complained you certainly would look as ridiculous as we aim to make this blog! Feel free to start your own blog to be as ridiculous, hurrryyyyyyyy! Blog Buzz is for long time followers of this hobby and references to blogs/bloggers may not make much sense if you are new to this. You are welcome to stay and read it of course but if you don’t get the jokes just remember this note! If you are new here and get lost you are highly encouraged to read the posts NOT starting with “Blog Buzz”. Thank you.
We are continuing to evolve and constantly trying to find the TBB groove. Meaning, making this blog a viable endeavor keeping it fun and serving its mission without screwing up the rest of our lives too bad. So I will try to draw more attention to blog posts that just deserve a closer and serious look in my opinion first and leave the satire for the end. So, here we go…
Credit Card Churning: for Mustachians or Sucka Consumers? – Mr. Money Mustache For the record, I never really extensively followed this blog but it has been in my Feedly for a long time. I usually check out the headline and pass. For some reason, this blog has gathered a very extensive following. I guess people are attracted to people who have retired so young because apparently it appears everyone wants to do that as they hate their job/boss/manager/coworker/blahblah. Anyway, the dude has a unique character and writes very well. I found the advice dished out here totally irrelevant to me as I do practice many things he preaches and I do enjoy treating myself to some fun/luxuries/ventilattes once in a while because, you know, life is short! Don’t get me started about rental properties. I do have one by the way but it is more because I did not want to sell in the end of 2007 (smart move!) and I really like my tenants so much I keep reducing the rent (yeah, totally not landlord material). Anyways, here is where I was going with this. Remember yesterday I mentioned there is a strong and growing subculture out there of newbies recommending selling credit cards to newbies? Well, here is a prime example of this folks! The desire to sell and make money selling credit cards is just way too strong even for blogs that, supposedly I guess, were supposed to be anti consumerism anti buying and preaching some type of bizarre minimalist lifestyle (whatever that is….just don’t mention it when you just gotta do a $10k credit card minimum spend for the signing bonus!) WTF!!! I just never expected this here. And I also never expected Chris Elliott to join Boarding Area either. So, I feel a little bit like an idiot not joining the bandwagon and being content making 63 cents from my site over the weekend! How ludicrous hey? I am thinking of firing my therapist Suzy Q….all this work to get me over my mental block, come on! I expect an army of Moustachians to come and attack me and I expect you TTBians (how ridiculous does that sound lol!) to fight back and WIN! For the record, my comment was not approved and you see a bunch of newbies in there commenting and throwing out links to their own newbie credit card selling blogs…which is even more hilarious! What a giant pimping pit this has become, disgusted!
My good-bye to BoardingArea, and hello to American Airlines! – Travel Update OMG, a blog is leaving the Boarding Area. Barbara Delollis (who is pretty cool) must have received an offer from Doug Parker she could not refuse. Doug takes a lot of crap from us travel hackers deservedly but I think he is doing a great job so far for the AA shareholders. And if this hire indicates anything…it’s that the guy is hitting it! It’s just weird to see any blogger leaving the Boarding Area family. I mean, I remember Lufthansa Flyer leaving but he came back! Anyways, I was accused of making crap up some time ago for daring to report that starting sometime in July ad revenue in Boarding Area dropped…like a lot! I wonder if she would still leave if there was never any ad revenue drop or (gasp) there was an increase! From what I know, readership is up, way up in some blogs. But the former lucrative ad placements are probably gone for good. Sign of the industry I guess. And you wonder why some of the big BA blogs are hitting the credit cards so hard? Voila! Anyways, all the best to Barbara, she deserves the best! Thanks for all the help on them upgrades Barb 😉
Now a bunch of crap follows below (Note: The Satire part starts now, thanks for your patience, we like to tinker with the format here 24/7):
A visit to the HOM: What it is like at the HOM that is the House of Miles – Delta Points A visit to Randy Petersen’s home becomes a 4 part series, seriously? So much praising going…of course what did you expect to hear, the guy doing my “links/ads/theme/contact form” sucks? He had a talk with the “man himself” (wow, are we talking about a Greek God like mythical creature or something?) but could not share anything with us…shaking my head. Anyways, no comments, not even one. Hey, you know, this should be one post perhaps? Trying to help here!
And I’m Back – Deals We Like First, we got a whole post about “hey readers Mr. Deals is going to be back” and links to former posts. Now we get a “Hey, I am Mr. Deals and I am back, did you miss me?” and I say “Nope!” and we get links to former posts and a warning more are coming. So, you have been warned!
My 2015 Hotel Elite Status Plans – Frugal Travel Guy FTG Who cares? Only Carl who inexplicably left one comment, the only one. Sell sell sell!
Which Credit Card Is Best for Groceries? – The Points Guy We somehow avoid mentioning one of the most lucrative cards of all, the Old Amex Blue cash card. Not having an affiliate link to reward the owners of this business has absolutely nothing to do with it I am sure. Hey, like they say over at FTG, it’s all about personal responsibility. Breathe, breathe, exhale, exhale.
And with that it is time to go play my Monday night soccer game with my “Gasping For Air” team. And I leave you with this beauty: a visual exhibition of self serving crack card pushing that is being administered down readers’ throats EVERY SINGLE DAY repeatedly like they are morons. So, DON’T BE A MORON. THINK!
Check out my updated blog lists: Blogs I Love, Blogs I Like, Blogs I Ignore
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TBB
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Making a first comeback like Brett Favre.
Haha and a second.
Will take third
Asian Morgan Freeman was hilarious!
Where is Brett Favre these days!
Amazing resemblance of that Asian dude to Morgan Freeman, wow!
Thanks for playing along…
Still can’t believe all the crap dished out at that 3M site, wow!
Really, George? Linking to two bullshit posts: one about accepting a corporate position (really not leaving due to the culture at BA) and the other is even worse.
“With moderate effort, some of these people collect over $10,000 in annual profits from the activity”
Sorry, but nobody is making over $10,000 in annual profits from credit card churning unless you count ridiculous point/mile valuations. That article is basically just a massive advertisement for the fact that they now get paid for American Express links.
You’ve gone with a strategy of not linking to posts you disagree with, so I really don’t see why you linked those two posts. MMM is a master of pumping affiliate links and it now looks like they are getting into the credit card game.
Why not, it’s the most profitable place to be!
Yep, absolutely linking to them to show what we are talking about around here! I cover the miles/points blogs mostly so I wanted to make an exception and link to this 3M dude to show exactly what is going on! I linked to Barb’s post because it was a way to show that indeed bloggers do leave BA. I see no harm as it was the last post anyway.
Yeah, the $10k profit was laughable indeed.
If this was from a miles/points blogger I would not link to it.
And yes the credit cards is the most profitable place to be. NO DOUBT about that as the Amazon orders around here have slowed to a trickle which sure helps encourage me to keep going….NOT!
@”William Charles” – Give me a break – the fake ‘William Charles’ identity who always links to ‘Dr of Credit’ is calling foul on BS links?!?
Stop using a clickbait image and name that’s not your identity. It’s a huge trust / spam red flag.
Here’s a thought – how about using ‘Doctor of Credit’ as the pseudonym for all your comments and linked name.
Oh and yes, Barbara leaving is of real news to people who care about travel. A former BA blogger on the inside of BA.
“Clickbait image” how is a picture of myself a clickbait image? I use a pen name, as do a lot of blog owners. So many people love to hate.
Huh? There are people making $10K cold hard cash (let alone points) a year off credit cards. And many do multiples of that. Go to the PDX DO and you’ll meet a few of them 🙂
No doubt people are making that type of money from MS, but I haven’t seen anybody doing it from the bonuses alone.
Well, I’m not really sure where is the BS part of MMM’s article (aside of his unfortunate statement that Delta adds fuel surcharges). My personal rule, as well as many others players’ is not to apply for a credit card that has less than $400 bonus in cash or equivalent points at 1:100 ratio (I make exceptions, but rarely). Considering that I am conservative and apply for no more than 5-6 cards every 90 days, and considering that many cards offer much better reward than the equivalent of $400, I find $10,000 annually quite a conservative estimate.
Couldnt help but think of this MMM post
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/06/21/i-just-gave-up-4000-per-month-to-keep-my-freedom-of-speech/
Hey, Amex and Barclay cards are just awesome lol
Can’t wait ’till we see MMM pimping the AWESOME Hawaiian cards…
Mike, thanks for that link. I was thinking about that exact same blog entry when I read TTB’s post today. When MMM wrote that post, Chase had wanted him to remove the term “badassity” from his blog heading. He refused and gave up the Chase affiliate link. He was proud of himself for giving up that affiliate income. I think he recently sold an income-producing property and feels like he needs to find other sources of income to replace it.
I hadn’t been to his blog in awhile, but went today to look how he is selling the cards. To his credit, he has a separate tab containing credit card links. He does not link this page (that I noticed) in his blog posts. I really don’t have a problem with the way he is doing it. It will be interesting, however, to see how this all plays out in the next few months.
Is there something specific you expect in “the next few months”? Just curious.
When I do it you guys I will do it the right way. FTG the person will go off here calling me a pimp and all that jazz buhahahahahahhaaha. But if I do will i be able to do post pics like this? I kind of doubt as the Chasey compliance person may choke as soon as they see it 🙂
https://twitter.com/FlyerTalkerinA2/status/522097909459075072/photo/1
What might happen in the next few months is that you will see a cc link in the body of a blog post. Then the next week a link in a sidebar. Then the following week a couple of more links within a blog post. Then the following week his cc “expert” does a guest post about credit cards. You have seen this scenario played out in various forms many times before, no?
Yep…sorry to say. This is how it begins 🙂
At the same time bringing in 63 cents over the weekend sure is not cool either…
I get it…
Suzyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
Good to see that Anne Elk landed a second career as a DeltaPoints headline writer.
Brings to mind this with Ann Elk:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAYDiPizDIs
“what is mine is mine”
Hey TBB, I appreciate the criticism. You’re definitely right to question my motives, as I try to do the same thing all the time. There’s no point making decisions based on money when you already have more than you need, and I have to remind myself of that to avoid the “mindless accumulation” stage that many people continue in long after they should have retired.
Anyway, I thought about an article like this for over a year before actually writing it, because I really don’t want to dilute the message of the blog by being perceived as a pimp for any product that I don’t agree with. I write MMM for one reason only: to coax the wealthier half of the rich world to reduce their consumption of resources.
So the reasons I decided to go ahead with this post were:
– I keep meeting people who I respect that actually enjoy the card optimization, and they do very well at it. They are the ones that got me into it.
– Many other readers have never heard of it, and could save $1k/year just by swapping out their grocery card annually. I wanted them to be inspired by the masters of the craft.
– I would be considered a “newbie” at travel hacking (and will continue to be this way since I only fly a few times per year), but not at cash back collecting. My own family has done at least $20,000 of that over the past 9 years, mostly through the Travelocity Amex and Chase Sapphire Preferred / Ink Bold cards.
If you read the post again carefully, you’ll note that all of us encourage using the cards to reduce spending on existing travel, rather than as an excuse to increase your travel or go first class.
I also trust the audience of my blog to not be overly sheeplike and get themselves into trouble. If you look at the demographics from this older survey I ran, it’s mostly engineers, finance industry workers, and a few doctors. They are a wealthy group looking to do handle that fortunate situation more wisely.
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/09/17/a-one-question-survey-who-are-the-mustachians/
Anyway, I still appreciate the callout – I’m not immune to mistakes and when I do make a bad call with an article, I want to hear about it from guys like you so I can learn from it.
This is a classy response.
Nice response, but can you answer some questions?
Explain how you can save $1K/yr by swapping out your grocery card. The best card is 6% back and capped at $360 back, and only after spending $6K, plus a $75 annual fee.
Why are you only linking to cards that pay you a referral?
You list the 30K AA cards when there are 50K public offers. Has any research gone into this list, or was it provided by your affiliate company?
Where’s the 80K IHG card? It has a low spend reqt that can be worth up to 16 free nights with PointBreaks?
And a tip: you might want to avoid the “C” word, especially in the post titles, if you want to keep those links.
The CC list is not curated by MMM rather it’s “Brandon Cronan, Your New MMM Card Curator”.
By the way MMM used to benefit greatly from selling CCs
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/06/21/i-just-gave-up-4000-per-month-to-keep-my-freedom-of-speech/
Hey TJ and Bluecat (below)
– the $1k/year example implies taking whatever card you use for groceries, and replacing it annually with a new one with whatever the maximum points card is at the time. For example, this year I did Sapphire Preferred for 50k points, which then redeemed for about $1000 in airfare on my annual trip to South America. I should probably have written “$500” to be on the more conservative side.
– the credit cards page is intended to collect the best deals, so if readers share better ones than those listed, it is our job to update the list regardless of how it affects our commissions. This is noted in a comment on that page where someone else asked the same question.
If you look through the list, you’ll see that most of the cards do NOT pay the blog a commission, but we did use the payable type of link for those companies who are willing to pay us.
– Bluecat – I do think I remember not approving your comment, because that information is already covered repeatedly in the credit cards page itself. Yes, the card companies pay commissions to publishers.
To others who find their comment not posted – the MM blog gets so many comments these days, people tend to repeat thoughts within a single article’s stream because they don’t have time to read the hundreds that came before them. I do my best to avoid too much repetition, as well as leaving the flame-war-starters out of there too. You should see the stuff that is still coming in on the previous article which covered why Science is something worth listening to!
Again, I know I’m not doing all this perfectly. Just asking for some credit regarding the motives behind that blog. I really am trying not to be evil – this is the biggest motivation for being financially independent (not being driven by money) and the same reason I am trying to get all these engineers, doctors, lawyers, etc. independent themselves.. because I think people do better work when they aren’t making decisions based on personal profit.
Are you hoping that those Chase cards will eventually pay you commission? Is there a reason why you don’t post best available deals for some cards out there (AA and United come to mind)? A reason why some comments do not get “approved” on you blog when they question that?
Transparency is good,
PedroNY
Well, it is either because the curator does not know them or the content is biased towards commission paying cards. Or both.
The comments I saw were mostly supportive and from people who don’t have a clue about this stuff or they are bloggers pushing fake “expertise” hoping to sell more cards…to newbies.
This happens naturally….you get warped into the easy money….I am afraid it may happen to me this is perhaps the main reason my therapist Suzy Q. has not been able to help cure me 🙂
“I remember not approving your comment, because that information is already covered repeatedly in the credit cards page itself. ”
“To others who find their comment not posted – the MM blog gets so many comments these days, people tend to repeat thoughts within a single article’s stream because they don’t have time to read the hundreds that came before them.”
I know you are smart enough to state that at the beginning of your comment section. Then most readers won’t wonder what happened to their comments.
One of the main things that piss me off is I take the time to comment and it does not get posted! It is infuriating….basically I am told we don’t need you around here. But hey we can not mess with the brand…
@MMM – ”
– Bluecat – I do think I remember not approving your comment, because that information is already covered repeatedly in the credit cards page itself. Yes, the card companies pay commissions to publishers.”
Ahh, so it *is* “covered repeatedly”…..on ANOTHER page. (But, other than your disclaimer, the entire crass circus of credit card touting, and why the reader should be aware, is not mentioned.) Sigh.
In the current post, where you describe all the glorious positives of taking your readers down the primrose path that is absolutely strewn with $100 bills to pocket, you neglect to even mention this ugly aspect. Interestingly enough, only ONE (of over 150) comments of your readers was allowed to bring this point up (and that one was uber-loyal “Brad”).
In all honesty, you really don’t think you are being less than forthcoming? What about warning your readers to be careful about the touts? Wouldn’t that also be in line with your philosophy?
I generally liked your blog and used it until I reached my goals and no longer really “need to use it”. Hope you see passed the money and issue some additional guidance to your readers….
It;s all about conversions! Additional guidance, what?
“because I think people do better work when they aren’t making decisions based on personal profit.”
You’re making a few decisions on that page based on personal profit, and it shows. It’s really sub-par work from a credit card “expert”.
If you’re looking to provide a resource for your readers, rather than just trying to make a few bucks off of them, I’d recommend thinking twice about the following:
1) Not linking non-affiliate offers
2) Prioritization of affiliate offers over non-affiliates
3) Really shitty advice on flying to Ecuador. US Airways doesn’t fly to Ecuador, so you’d have to fly AA or LAN. But when you use American miles it’s only 30K RT when you fly off-peak with AA miles. 35K the rest of the year. Right now your misinformation is costing your readers $89, an extra credit inquiry, and wasted miles.
4) Basic and critical information errors (Chase Ink fee not waived first year, SPG Biz bonus for $5K spend is 15K not 20K)
5) Relying on readers to generate/edit/correct your content.
How much are you paying your expert? I’ll do it for 20% less 😉 I’m an engineer, so I know your target demo. We like attention to detail….
I recommend TJ, he knows a lot more and he is cheaper!
But then again your readers may be steered to certain cards that may not lead to more conversions! And the Amex/Barclay banks may even have trouble with that type of content..
And you know, it’s a slippery slope dudes…
Pretty soon TBB readers will be called a nest of “angries” again….
You’re confusing the new Amex card with the old one. There is no CB limit or annual fee for the old Amex Cash. https://www304.americanexpress.com/credit-card/blue-cash/25330
I LOVE that card 😉
I tried to post on your blog, MMM, but you have not approved it. It was not at all inflammatory, and it did contribute to the discussion, so I can’t understand your motivation for not posting it…
Anyway, I will repeat the jist of it here: In the post, and in all of the comments, why is there NO mention of the commission that credit card companies are paying to the touts? Don’t you think your readers would be interested to know that many of the same people promoting these cards are making $200 a pop off of them?
MMM, it’s very interesting/telling/disturbing that you do not have any such discussion on your blog……
Forbidden contractually. The moment you mention that your affiliate links are taken away!
There is more transparency in drug dealing than credit card shilling….
Hey wait, it rhymes!
To Mr. Money Moustache: I appreciate you taking the time to respond here. It would have been nice if my comment on your blog was approved too but we know that sometimes it happens.
I stand by what I wrote. And I see some of my readers have added to it, especially TJ.
What I find incredulous is this:
” I write MMM for one reason only: to coax the wealthier half of the rich world to reduce their consumption of resources.”
How is that possible if someone gets several cards and suddenly is faced from charging up to $15k to $25k in the next three months?
You have done an amazing job of creating a following and monetizing your efforts. I think getting some “expert” to be your card curator (clever) is also a masterful stroke but some of us have been doing this for the past 20 years and we can clearly tell what is pimping or not or what DRIVES the content in a post. In so many times we have pointed this out here…so called “experts” either don’t know what they are talking about or their content is purely driven of what affiliate links are conveniently promoted or both.
I am not going to get into the whole non transparency of the whole thing which is conveniently excused “we are contractually forbidden by law to reveal our compensation”.
Never heard of Brandon and that MD dude was taken off my Feedly 372 blogs I follow because I don’t have much time to waste, believe it or not.
You may be interested in this blog post of mine…but I am sure you know what I am talking about:
http://travelbloggerbuzz.com/travel-milespoints-blogosphere-has-turned-into-a-giant-credit-card-pumpization-scheme/
Again, thank you for taking the time to contribute here.
The HOM got DP his Amex links back, no wonder it feels like a pilgrimage to the saviour 😉
Lol, yeah!
TOP SECRET never seen before video smuggled out of #BACON14 by a friendly. Motivation speech for troops to go out and get more clicks. For security…. destroy this link after viewing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zc0BI7T1LA
Gary says not to worry….6 more days of Chase Ink Plus pimping….REJOICE!
Breaking: TBB has been busy shopping (not in the mall!) and trying to lift Mr. Market back to record territory 🙂
We will be back….soon.
You might be a bit too early. Lots of hand wringing going on….CNN ratings are up and that’s a sure sign the nimrod class is panicking.
I fully expect to look like a fool in the short term! My crystal ball gazing abilities sure need work lol.
It appears we’ve reached the “Chase decides to extend promotional offer, just like they do every time. Bloggers pretend to act surprised at the incredible generosity of Chase while using the news to pump another dozen posts out about the card. Which of course is precisely why Chase always fake-extends it in the first place” stage of the Chase Ink promo
Speaking of which, HURRY 6 DAYS LEFT!!!!!!!
Chase did not release an end date for the IP 70K LTO until today.
Any blogger that pretended there was an earlier end date pulled that info out of their you know where…
I am so so shocked the offer was extended, so SO shocked!
I was a bit surprised about MMM move on making a credit card page, I guess allure of extra income in the retirement is strong there. Majority of the people who read his blog either want to retire early, plan to retire early or about to retire early. He lives on less than $30k a year, so I don’t understand where spending of $5,000 (SPG sponsored link) or $3,000 (Arrival sponsored link) comes from… everyday activity? Really? Anyway, kind of sad that he went there.
Cheers,
PedroNY
He lives on $30K a year……just like Mommy Points travels FOR FREEEEE!!
But honestly, I respect his ideas and philosophies mostly. The move into credit card sales is puzzling though.
Same here about respecting his ideas and philosophies mostly. And this was just not expected at all, I am still shocked about it!
Guess my pumpization scheme post will never be linked to his blog LOL.
That blog could be bringing in a heck of a lot more than $30k per month, LOT more! Probably didn’t even need the cc money. But it does not take a rocket scientist to see the potential you guys…I can see that from my own experience with my 3 links that probably do not bring in together more in a month THAN JUST ONE CC APP!!!
I hear what you are saying. Anyway, just another blog wanting to make a buck off the large reader population, nothing new in this world, we seen it before.
I do enjoy clicking on the Amazon button before I shop, hopefully George is getting at least a beer or two from me a few times a week.
Cheers,
PedroNY
Yes thank you, a lot more honest way to go about this. Thank God the day job is bringing in enough to keep me going because I can definitely tell you how I feel somedays which is probably the same as what the other bloggers go through:
It is a bitch keeping up a blog and, gosh darn it, I need to get compensated for my time. If the banks are willing to pay to refer cards to readers I might as well take it and not let it go to someone else!
Or something like that….I could be doing other things with my time you know…
But somehow I keep going and going like the energizer bunny…waiting for my mother to say come take care of me I broke my leg/arm/whatever….And that will be the end.
It’s late, just kept talking about miles/points stuff in our local Ann Arbor Meetup group…I am addicted to this hobby. It’s like crack!
I keep forgetting to throw this out there: one blog that left BA and has been successful: Becky (New Girl/now Girl and Globe). Rebranded away from miles to more purely travel.
That is correct, my bad. Thanks!