Let’s go on a wild ride sitting inside an MS meetup, learn how to get to Hawaii, earn 50k Delta SkyMiles, learn more about affiliate links, travel to Petra and lighthouses, share with you the best personal finance articles I found in the past few days, and, as always, I am calling out the absurdities in the Blog Buzz section! No worries, I have a good attorney ready to make a name for himself 😉
TBB Blog Mission: To Entertain. Educate. Inspire. In That Order
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MILES/POINTS
My First Manufactured Spending Meetup. By The Jetsetter’s Homestead. I should probably shut up about this topic but I really enjoyed the writing here. Regarding future revenue sources for blogs, I think it is prudent not to make definitive statements (“I will never have credit card affiliate links”) because the blogosphere is filled with…broken promises!
Cheapest Ways to Get to Hawaii. By Travel is Free. All these slots begging for credit card links and seeing none…what a shame 🙂 You can help the pumpers or you can help bloggers like this, YOUR call!
Get Avis First Elite status here with a Mastercard. Or, if you prefer, you can enroll and get National Executive status here. Sorry no pics & arrows, you can figure it out.
Amex is offering two Delta credit cards. The Platinum Delta SkyMiles card and the Gold Delta SkyMiles credit card. Both starting at 50,000 Delta Skymiles and more. The Platinum card has a $195 annual fee, not waived. You can get them only if you did not have the cards before per new Amex policy…
Do you really understand affiliate links? [Advanced Strategy]. By Matt at Saverocity. Very educational for me at least. I see now the bloggers use a WordPress plug in to bombard the affiliate links. Brilliant! That goes to show you how up to speed TBB is with this stuff! I need to learn how to use this and make my Amazon link look so sexy that it will be just irresistible, yes!
TRAVEL
30 of the world’s most important ancient ruins. By Matador Network.
28 Breathtaking Photos of Lighthouses. By Bored Panda. I had the hardest time to pick one picture, they are all way too awesome, wow!
25 of the Best Restaurant Views. By The CHIVE.
ODDZ & ENDZ PERSONAL FINANCE
Well, I didn’t have any weird stuff to share with you so I am going to retitle this section and share you with some great personal finance articles that will certainly be educational as this is what I do mostly when I am not reviewing blogs for TBB 🙂
Things to Avoid at All Costs. At Motley Fool. Fantastic read on personal finance and more! Loved this one: “Spending the majority of your time in a job you hate in order to make enough money to spend part of your time in a life you don’t hate.” Please avoid the sneaky ads in the website, oh lord!
Stop Worrying About the Next Market Crash. “…stop fretting about when the next financial calamity will hit and live a meaningful life.”
Secrets of how the rich save, spend and invest. Some excellent tips here to improve your finances! Yes you can! And you don’t need to apply for seven credit cards in the same day all right? 🙂
BLOG BUZZ
Note: This section 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 go WTF just remember this note!
I am taking my kids to Cedar Point all day Thursday so not sure I will have a Friday Buzz post. But please come by often and click on my Amazon link, the TBB team (lol) appreciates it!
What gets me is using bloggers’ wives to advertise credit cards. Been a while but Emily of Million Miles Secrets is back holding credit cards and smiling. And lucky you clueless MMS reader, you get a bonus (number 11) benefit of the United MileageExplorer Visa card. Sell them Chase cards, stay Chase-y all the way. Look for autograph in the Chicago Seminars, make sure it is not template-y. Cough.
Frugal Travel Guy (the person) mailed in another post this Monday. He is addicted to spending. And somehow the bank balances are going up. Wow. Zzzzzzz. Look for Howie to make it up tomorrow on the affiliate links using the third cousin of his mother in law as an ‘example”. Ask them in person at the Chicago Seminars and also please ask them how they can still have a “Credit Card Tool” on their website recommending to newbies looking for a cash back card to get seven (mostly Chase of course) travel rewards (NOT cash back!) credit cards and push them to apply for all of them in the same day to maximize miles/points to make KKR (the owners of the website corporate business venture) even more money. Hey, it looks like some commenters are angry there too as Ron said “Another worthless post…”. Of course nobody responds to them…
Points Miles and Martinis posted about that United letter template I posted here a week or two ago. They just found it. Hint: Never miss a TBB post. Heck, do a template to put more filler content in your blog! I know…it happens.
Unroad Warrior wants you to know how to redeem your Barclay Arrival points. And to buy the damn card from the site. Let me give you a hint on how to do this…Click on Rewards and follow the prompts! Do you want me to hold your hand now, you are a big boy…you can do iiiiiiiit!
And it appeared…At Frugal Travel Guy a post by “Brought to You by Hertz”. I wonder how much Hertz paid for this unbiased information lol. And, why oh why, are the comments closed? Is Hertz unavailable to engage with the FTG readers? Joking of course…How low can you go? Mind you I absolutely despise these sponsored posts at DansDeals too! The last thing blog readers is more marketing in their faces eyeballs!
Is there a big promotion for selling the Barclay Arrival card these days? Every blogger is selling the card it appears.
The Points Guy wants you to vote for him so he can go to SXSW Interactive 2015. Apparently, he can keep up with all points related things in this conference so he can still be an expert, mega cough.
The Miles Professor REALLY likes the Barclay Arrival cards, can’t stay away from selling them for more than a few or so posts. The thing is…you can buy this card pretty much everywhere!!!
Delta Points finally finished the trip report to Sweden (again). Thank you Lord! He sells Barclay Arrival cards too! And Uber! And much much more…basically anything it can sell it is here!
I really really do not want to bother mentioning Delta Points at all! But I just…can’t. Just when I think the blog has reached way down, waaaaaay down…it surprises me yet again! Case in point: The Amex Delta 50k credit cards offers that came out. Would you expect a blog titled “Delta Points” (!!!!) to help its readers to apply for them and get more Delta miles/points/SkyMiles or whatever ya call this currency this blog specializes in? Just like I did in the miles/points section above you know? Well, Delta Points wrote a post and screamed about the 50,000 Delta offers (“both personal and business!<——noticed the obligatory exclamation mark?…probably learned that from MMS) and I was expecting to see the credit card links even if the blog does not get paid selling Amex credit cards. But noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, that would be way too helpful to do to the DP readers. Instead, amazingly again, DP wants readers to “email him if they need a link”. WTF, are you serious? What the hell is going on here? Have we arranged a deal to push another blogger’s link and split the commission as an esteemed TBB reader suggested? Unbelievable. And then people wonder why I get so angry when I see stuff like this? I think this is treating your readers like idiots. I am getting really really angry now…Damnit, my therapist is on vacation and told me not to call her. I must somehow cope with this and go on…
The arguments for selling the Barclays Arrival card are getting beyond ridiculous. Every blogger tries to find the dumbest excuse to pump it again and again. Isn’t it amazing how merchandise drives content? This is becoming a giant nest of master salesmen who pose as “experts” helping friends and family when they are in fact clueless about this stuff. Others are in such a bubble they have no idea what they have become. It is incredibly fascinating and equally sad and disgusting to watch this hobby evolve and degenerate to this level.
Only Million Mile Secrets found a way to copy the Avis and National Car Rental elite status deals (see links in my Miles/Points section above) and expertly insert eight credit card affiliate credit card links. Amazing!
And here I am laboring away to bring you a quality and entertaining read fearing what others will think if I insert my Uber link again this week as I did once last week. I used to tweet my Amazon link every other day or so but now also feel bad that may be too much. When these bozos drop 30 (or more sometimes!) in a SINGLE blog post, WTF! Life is so unfair sometimes. I appreciate the emails I get telling me to add credit card links because they would rather help me instead of some of these mega pumpers. One day I may enter into this just to try it out. And I will do it in a noble way…if there is one…I am not sure there is. I am just trying to figure it all out. I see myself as an independent veteran hobbyist reviewing blogs and speaking my mind without giving a phuck what Chase or Amex think. And, don’t get me wrong, I get a lot of pleasure out of that! We shall see…we evolve. I doubt that this bank credit card affiliate system has legs anyways and I will be the first to cheer when it is all done so all of these “expert” bloggers can go back to their cubicles (or yachts…frankly my dear, who gives a phuck where they go…but I guarantee you that they will not be selling credit cards!)
In case you lived in a cave the last few days, American Express opened a Centurion Lounge in NYC’s La Guardia airport. Everyone had to tell us about it. Prepare for the onslaught of the “reviews”.
TBB thirty years ago:
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First?
What the heck does a guy have to do to be first around here?
I camped out by TBB’s house with binoculars to see when he pressed ‘submit’
I finally broke Helixcardinal’s template…or script…or whatever he was using to get First here. YES!
I am going to lower the shades now Rich….or wait, what else did you see? Hope nothing ends up in da Internet…please amigo 🙂
Bronze for today. That is ok. Consolation prize.
Hey, it’s hardware. Everyone after you gets nothing….on a second thought, you get nothing too, just imaginary hardware. Enjoy it and….click on all my links! <---------notice the strategic placement of the exclamation mark done by my first template!
I don’t agree with your hostility to posts and comments about how much points and miles are worth. I came to this hobby partially because I’m interested in the biggest rebates I can get for purchases. This interest is stronger now that we’ve decided to cut back on plane travel.
I recently called in to Amex to cancel a card, and the representative offered me options between the Amex Everyday and Everyday Preferred (w/ sign-up bonus and no hard pull) as a downgrade for the card. I then went to read up on the card and hit TPG first, because of SEO optimization, of course.
He says he values MR points at two cents each, so 4.5 MR points for your grocery spending is advertised as a nine percent return. Now, Buzz, that’s just horsehit sauce on top of a bullshit sundae. It’s for this reason, among others, that discussing the true value of points and miles brings much needed scrutiny and thought amidst the fog of credit card salespeople slinging bullpucky.
Well…if you put it this way I agree then!
“that’s just horseshit sauce on top of a bullshit sundae.” – Lol. Can you picture that? OMG…Reminds me when I first got to the US and was having a hard time with English….could never understand what people meant when they said “when shit hits the fan”….Could never grasp the meaning of the slang lol.
Everyone should go to Petra. Do it as an overnight, not a day trip.
I’ve been pondering all the initials that are out there on the travel blogs.
DP
FTG
JAPT
MMS
MP
MP&M
TBB
TDM
TisF
TPG
TMP
OMAAT
VFTW
UW
– all/some of these are mentioned above in the post.
Is there a trend towards 3 or 4 letter initialed bloggers? Is the letter M and T an important letter in the blogging world, and if so, how come there are no M’s in TBB??
Hmmm, I think you are up to something here. Yeah, so many M and Ts. Maybe they attract eyeballs…got to be a marketing explanation for this I am sure. Which explains the absence of the M in TBB lol.
Yeah, Petra is in the bucket list for sure.
TDM? Drawing a blank…which is not unusual!
Petra is on my list too and now I am reminded of how many more places I really want to see on that list. Have been to 12 of 30, so that leaves a lot of ground to cover! Used to teach ancient cultures, so I have seen more than most I assume.
I did not count how many I have been to in the list because I did not want to get depressed 😉
I’ll second the “everybody should see Petra” advice. I went there in fall of 2002 during the buildup to Gulf War 2 and tourism was way down, so we practically had the place to ourselves. If peace ever breaks out in the middle east that place will be as crowded as Disneyworld. I imagine tourism is down right now as well in Jordan, though the political situation may be more volatile than it was when I was there. When I went, the reaction from more than one person was along the lines of “Have fun getting killed by terrorists!” but things seemed quite calm to me. Though with that said, the hotel I stayed at was suicide-bombed a couple of years later.
Peace in the middle east? That will take place when blogger “experts” stop pumping credit cards every day 🙂
Definitely going to Petra…just don’t know when.
Enjoy your time at Cedar Point! A tip: I live about 45 minutes from Kings’ Island. The best time to go, IMHO, is when they are open on weekends during the fall. The weather is usually still nice, crowds are much lower, ride wait times are very short, and there are usually good discount tickets available – if not directly through the park, then via coupon from Wendys, Kroger, etc. Last time I went, you could literally get off the Beast, run back around and get on again. If there was a wait, it was like 5 minutes. Maybe CP has something similar. I haven’t visited in about 15 years
I totally agree with this and yes Cedar Point has the same weekend dates. It’s just that daughter has dance activities when school starts in the weekends so could not manage it then. Weather looks good so it looks like it is a go! First time I went to Cedar Point I thought this was heaven on earth….I still do!
Did you get the CP tickets on the cheap when I posted them a couple weeks ago?
http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/48284
Yes, I had bookmarked it.
Totally agree the bloggers waaay over pump the Arrival card. Also did you notice on MMS’ last Arrival sales job he mentioned reader Kumar? Was that your reader Kumar? The trader.
Overpumping aside, I actually really like the arrival card. It is basically a 2% cash back card with a $400 sign up bonus. Hard to beat that.
I like the card too.
Kumar should ask for compensation from MMS 🙂
trader or traitor?
Ha ha.
I guess I need to proof read my comments.
I still dont understand why the heck did he select my name out of all names out there :(. There are so many beautiful names like for example Scott :). Never mind. I will forgive him this time because the card is really good and i am happy to be part of it :).
By the way, yesterday out of the 1,234,567 people who came in my dreams asking which CC is the best in the universe, I suggested to one friend named Daraius that Barclays Arrival was the best CC now. Well, how about that for a revenge, huh? 🙂
Hmm….are you one of them ghostwriters for MMS Kumar? Is that the reason huh? Come on, spill the beans….on a second thought…don’t! 🙂
I enjoyed reading PMM links to….wikipedia.
Seriously. Wikipedia. No….no links to the museum of which was the topic of discussion. That’d be too damn difficult to give to the readers.
I like wikipedia as a starting point. But writing a post on a blog, a specific post, that was centered not on points and miles but an actual destination…I’d think one would like to link the ACTUAL destination (since it is a building. with an address. and phone. and it’s own website).
*sigh*
They come up with some stuff all the time that makes me shake my head violently…
The most fun and real blog out there to read. I wish it showed up in my mail box more….
Anyway, it was great to meet with you and exchange/debate our various discussion topics.
As you know, Brooklyn is awesome!
Thanks a lot John, great meeting you too. Love the pic. If I go I have no doubt a blogger or two will report me to the State Dept. 🙂
Just go legally:) Not hard, really.
I thought legally meant going as part of an “educational” tour or something like that…and those are way overpriced. Just too busy to research it. I could easily make it there from Toronto using my Greek passport 🙂
Sounds like a plan…
Hard to go to Brooklyn legally!? Guess I moved away from NY just in time?! (38 years ago!)
{wink}
In case you didn’t know, DP has the low-paying links for most cards (including Chase/Amex) through CreditCards.com. I think pretty much anyone with a blog can get them. They have very strict rules about promoting specific cards on their site. Basically, you can’t. You can have a link to the creditcards.com site, and that’s about it. To get around this, I’m guessing DP sends a circles and arrows email on how to get the Delta cards using his generic CreditCards.com link.
Ok, this makes sense now. Hey, anything to line up the blogger’s pocket. Pocket always comes before helping readers!
Anyways, the crack TBB investigative team inquired about the links…and DP replied within TWO minutes with clear directions on how to apply for it on the CreditCards.com site.
Maybe I should do this too one of these days/months/years…
They’re back!
My tweets as soon as I saw this:
Proof there is no God. Or God likes pumpers! @Amex gets in bed with Delta Points again. The Amex links will no longer point to other cards:(
Breaking News: Expect posts abt the amazing Delta @AskAmex cards every day now at Delta points again.Why? Because the blogs gets paid again!
At least the Amex Delta card links will now go to an actual Amex credit card instead of DP’s affiliate credit card page.
Sad!
Re Matt’s piece, I have been running HFP for 2.5 years now and never heard of Pretty Links (and I am more WordPress savvy than most bloggers) so it may well be that most do not know of it. Will take a look now though!
I have learned so much about the online world ever since I started my blog it is quite fascinating! Pretty Links was one of them. Working on making my Amazon link sexy looking now…with a template of course!
Those AmEx offers have actually been available since the start of July, you just had to apply by phone and tell them the POID for the offer (all listed on my site, reddit, FT and a few other blogs). The Platinum offer now available is slightly higher (45k vs 50k miles) but the Gold offer is exactly the same.
Literally the only difference is some bloggers now get paid for promoting the offer.
I agree with the doctor. He was the first one to mention about that offer a month back and i got a mail about that offer also.
Yeah, I remember now you posting about them. You are right. I don’t keep up with Delta offers very well lately…
1,234,567 people whom i met in my dreams yesterday kept asking me which is the best credit card in this universe. I told them all credit cards that offer me affiliate money are the best in the world and it is difficult to single out any card. WTF, i think i should stop reading any of the CC pumping blogs before i go to sleep.
I went to bed before midnight last night. I had a fantasy…that my Feedly unread list was only double digits!!!!
I grew up in Anglesey, that picture is of the light-house South Stack. That picture is pure photoshop. The place never looks anything phucking like that (sorry have to self censor here on TBB). That is the most ridiculously over-photoshopped/filtered pic I have seen in my life. TBB what is educating/inspiring about fake pics? Why not just post pics of pretty dragons that my son comes up with in his Dragonvale game? They are just as much reality as these bullshit pictures. I will have to post that one on my FB page and see what the folks at home think of it and how close to reality it is.
Hey, how am I supposed to find out it was photoshopped without posting it here and a reader points it out? Well, whoever did the photoshop looks like did a great job! Sorry dude, no time to go around and make sure every photo is legit, got no template for dat 🙂 Yeah, I should go easier on that site, this is not the first time I am told they have photo shop manufactured pictures, thanks.
You may have something good going with “Views from a Toilet” blog 🙂
Seriously every single one of those photos is photoshopped. I did not have you down in the naive sucker camp but I think when it comes to the shit they post on twisted whatever panda you fall for it all.
Yes I think I am going to rename my blog and go around the world taking pictures from the toilet
I am also going to create a new web site called Twisted Panda that I will post pictures of dragons from Dragonvale on and claim that they are pictures of exotic animals and wait for bloggers to make them go viral “so cool I don’t know which one is best!”
😉
I have been posting my own photographs at The Gate with you in mind, George.
Disclosure: The only work my photographs undergo in Adobe Photoshop is color correction using the Curves tool — mostly for contrast purposes — and some sharpening to enhance edges. The photographs are not enhanced anywhere near to the point of unrealistic.
I promised more trip reports here at TravelBloggerBuzz; and I am attempting to deliver. What I decided to do was give those trip reports brevity by highlighting one or two specific places or experiences — and do them in random installments rather than post ramblingly long trip reports in 37 parts.
I could please use some constructive feedback from you and your readers, if you are at all interested…
Well, they are better than most trip reports in this space we are all hanging. As MilesAbound has noticed, I am a sucker for great pictures. Again, I have extremely high standards (i.e. Andrew of Lenticular Travel and Yomadic) so you have some work to do on that front. I am very aware of my own photo taking skills…they absolutely SUCK! I noticed an effort to weave some stories around the trip reports, involving actual people like the one of the Bucharest Palace. I think that is great. And you also add some educational and practical info on the specific sites which is very welcome.
I am close to 2 years doing this and I am still learning every day. Since there are so many blogs out there we all need to answer this: What is your blog about?
TBB is about reviewing blogs. This is how it started and this is the reason of its existence. There is always some other stuff to spice it up but, I mean, when you think of TBB you automatically think “the crazy guy who keeps track of hundreds of blogs and writes about them”: Or am I wrong?
I primarily cover miles/points blogs. Yes I am fascinated by travel and personal finance and soccer too. So, trip reports tend to bore me in general (especially of flat beds and toilets in hotels, arggh) unless they grab me by a certain something (unique location, fantastic photos, personal hook or story).
You asked for it.
…and I appreciate the feedback.
Up until last month for almost eight years, The Gate was about highlighting discussions about miles, points and travel which was posted on FlyerTalk, which could include news, products and services. Now I have expanded that to include Milepoint and other travel, miles and points bulletin boards and weblogs in addition to FlyerTalk…
…but I am also reading feedback about what people want and do not want. You are not the only one who asked for more trip reports; but then I read complaints about long, drawn out multi-part trip reports — so I decided to include trip reports which are short and to the point, with a little editorial license thrown in.
Additionally — now that The Gate is at BoardingArea — I am striving to post content which is not repeated by the other “bloggers.” I am also trying to personalize the articles that I write — with my quirky sense of humor, to which I need to return; as well as with my opinions and with the photographs which I take — so that when you read an article written by me, you will know that it was written by me just by reading it.
As for the photographs: I used to use the photographs of FlyerTalk members and link back to their trip reports. I will still do that for anyone who wants for me to link back to a trip report he or she wrote as long as I have permission to use a photograph they own in an article which is relevant. I am not promising spectacular photography, although I will try to improve; but I am also not going to post heavily-retrouched and manipulated images either.
I was given the opportunity to work with affiliate credit cards at BoardingArea; but I turned that down when asked. Ironically, the weblogs which have affiliate links to credit cards are what seem to get the most attention; and not just here at TravelBloggerBuzz. I want to write what interests you — not be forced to write about the virtues of some credit card unless I deem it worthy.
I have been monitoring Google Analytics for The Gate in an attempt to see which articles are the most popular; and then perhaps concentrate more on those while still offering some variety.
Let’s just say that I have been writing for The Gate for eight years now; and I am still learning every day as well, George — and no, I do not think that you are crazy.
Does all of this make sense?
It’s late…need to hit the bed as I have a long day of riding roller coasters tomorrow with my kids.
Yeah it makes sense.
I like short trip reports, easier to read. But when I do mine I go SUPER long…just can’t do the 59 part thing. They take forever to do, definitely can use a template for them lol.
You will find that posts about credit cards get the most hits…I have been told.
I also expect less links to Flyer Talk from now on 😉
So, you’re saying that it is more rugged than that in real life??
Makes me want to go there even more!!!
For some reason, I just have an affinity for the harsh landscapes of the UK and Ireland.
I’m glad you liked the manufactured spend piece… it really was a fascinating afternoon for me. And yes, I really do feel resolute about not promoting credit cards – it was, in fact, one of the first points of clarification I got from BA before joining their network (that I would not be required to promote cards). I don’t judge those who do it… I understand the desire to earn a living. But I do not wish to earn mine *that* way. 😉
It was fascinating for me to read about this meeting from your perspective.
We all evolve. Never say never. The economics involved with the cc is just so ridiculously one sided is beyond…ludicrous! Therefore, the non stop pumping going one everywhere…especially BA 🙂
Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment. This goes for you and everyone here!
It was a fascinating read too.
Now please don’t take offense Jesetter but I have also noted there are two categories of people that the MS club let on the inside:
1) Folks they trust who have shown they know what they are doing and won’t talk about it
2) Folks with boobs and a vagina
So in other words, just like I remember FlyerTalk DOs being back in the day. 😛
Lol, great comeback!
touche!
Speaking of initials (again)… we talked about M & T. Well, if you say MT real fast, it reads empty. 😀
No M’s then at TBB…like ever!
Hmm….how about M&M’s?
TO Marathon Man, You have a habit of berating any blogger who writes about BUYING MONEY ORDERS WITH DEBIT CARDS. I know you are making a ton of dough with this gig and you do not want it put in jeopardy. Be realistic, it is out there and it is not a secret. There are tens of thousands of places to buy MO’s and it is as well known as getting miles for signing up for credit cards. Stop trying to intimidate bloggers with your rants when they mention this. You make yourself look wackyer than Rick AND greedy, selfish and not a very nice guy. Nothing personal, just saying, your pal, Diablo Devil.
Diablo Devil: Nice pic too to go along with it 🙂
The interest of bloggers vs hobbyist gamers are wildly opposite. From the perspective of the second group (who I identify with) I agree with MM in principle. I also realize it is a battle we can not win 🙂
I dont have a dog in this fight (I dont engage in MS activities, since the VR jig was shut down) but I dont think MM would qualify as a “hobbyist” gamer – given his own statements that he sometimes “processes” over $2mn in spend.
That IS a great and valid point indeed.
George I am surprised you did not mention the piece from VFTW did on a clown on board EL AL flights. That is why he is number 1 in breaking stories. Man is a genius.
I subscribe to some blogs just in case I don’t miss anything. Every day his blog posts hit my inbox, we are talking 5 to 6 blog posts a day. The pace is insane, I hardly bother my readers more than once every other day. I guess I could post about shit like that too but…I just can’t…I respect your time! When I saw that I rolled my eyes (again) and clicked…delete 🙂
I think Marathon Man’s objections to certain blog posts would ring a lot truer if he wasn’t a keynote speaker at a gathering held to promote some of those same bloggers and to bring more masses into the game.
Changing subjects: If ‘horeshit sauce on a bullshit sundae’ doesn’t make the weekly highlights, I’m going to apply for a credit card using one of Ingy’s links. Or maybe seven. So George, you’ve been warned.
Good point. We shall see what happens…
Of course that would make the Gem comments but…I don’t have a template for that. Running way behind on them.
This week’s comment gems…. brought to you by Hertz!
I wonder how much they sell a post! Today it was Holiday Inn buying space at FTG…and brought to you by FTG Staff this time….Comments are sadly closed lol.
Why is the blog buzz way at the end of your post? I thought this site was called Travel Blogger Buzz?
Hmm…good point as well. I could spin it off and then just have an all out Buzz slugfest.
And start another one teaching the newbies how to do this and do it right. And, if that ever happens, I will become Batman! There are only 24 hours in a day…
This whole manufacturing spending scheme has got to stop. As we all know from simple economics, there is no free lunch! There is literally no way for these plans to work and they are clearly just a way for blogs like this to get traffic and make big bucks for themselves – not much worse than the proverbial money tree!!! Please take a minute to really think about your actions before you go on perpetuating these untruths, George. Love the blog and please keep up the hard work!
Of course this MS stuff will end. This abundance of prepaid/debit/loadable/loaded/bluebird/serve/vanilla/whatnot is leading to megainflation/devaluations and speeding up the revenue based burning way!
Sadly, these companies/banks allow this to happen. Some ways close fast, some eventually but they all close. If it was not for MS earning I am not sure the draw in this game will be as powerful. There are only so many cards to get and Amex starting the one per life policy which may stick…
Look, for one hour today, I knocked off the min spend in 2 cards and finished the spend bonus on two other cards. Bagged about 160k miles/points. No cash this time. It’s like, you know, a drug. Powerful crack 🙂
You can see this “MS” thingie taking bigger proportions in the last year or so…I think, you are right, it is how the marketplace moves. No doubt many blogs are writing about it to get traffic & are in it only for the money!
I used to be very critical (still am) of traders pushing buttons around, not really adding anything or making an actual product. Sometimes, I catch myself in line at (nearby) Wal Mart thinking this is just..insane! And it is…
I guess I must agree and disagree. To me this seems like a case of the rich just getting richer, mostly the banks. Maybe you can handle “manufacturing” $500 of spending (or even more!), but normal people like me can’t deal with spending that kind of money on a daily basis. Spending $500 just to get 500 points just doesn’t make any sense to me, even when they are Starwood points that can transfer, no matter what any blog says!!! As a financial planner, I thought you might have more insight or suggestions? I guess it’s just a rich man’s game and the normal people and minorities lose out as always…
The banks are getting richer because they take advantage of people who should not be doing this! Even after losing their ass by some who clearly live for this 🙂
You do what you are comfortable with MS. If it does not make sense to you…don’t do it! It makes sense to me…
You can email me and I can explain better when I have more time….scrambling tonight to finish Buzz post and get ready for a day of riding roller coasters at Cedar Point with my kids.
There is a certain truth to “it takes money to make money” unfortunately. And this hobby does not appeal to..normal people…we are NOT normal people 🙂 And it is an equal opportunity hobby, you just need to be wired a certain way AND spend the time to educate yourself and not rely on posers selling their “expertise” and selling you stuff in a non transparent weasel-y way 😉
I don’t get it – I’m busy canceling my Delta Platinum Amex ($195 for what?) and everyone else is pushing the cards.
Kathy (who writes WRFM)
We are SO on the same “page”, Kathy.
If I could make as much as this card makes for bloggers pushing it I would probably be doing it too.
Delta cards make me go zzzzz. But that Gold card can be a good one if you could swing it 🙂