These lists represent my personal choices. And I am darn proud of them. I have been around the block in this hobby so I am happy to be able to influence some readers to learn about these blogs from someone with some experience in this quirky hobby. Are they perfect? Hell NO! But I believe they are fair and I sleep well at night knowing full well that the discovery of some of these blogs can lead to world peace and understanding 🙂
Everything I have done so far with my blog is to achieve its mission: To Entertain. Educate. Inspire. In that order!
And no sticking that Amazon affiliate link in your face, let’s give it a pass on a Sunday!
Feel free to give me feedback about my lists in the comments. Please be respectful. I have some blogs in mind I am considering adding to the Like list. I may take out a few blogs also mostly to non frequent postings. I have many to add in the Ignore list but I made a decision to add the ones people have heard of.
They can be found on the Blog Reviews tab.
BLOGS I LOVE
Weed in Albania. Communist party headquarters in Bulgaria. Homeless people in Budapest. My favorite travel blogger. I enjoy every post, they are all unique and original!
How can you describe Twisted Sifter? Eclectic appears to be an understatement. I get this feeling of my life being enhanced with what appears here.
The best miles/points blogger. A natural in this blogging! Original posts almost daily while most other bloggers repeat themselves. And you know your eye sockets will NOT be assaulted by marketing pitches.
Ok, not a blog technically. What they do is find flight deals. I recommend following them on twitter. I get their tweets on my smart phone and I get excited every time. I also wished my home airport was not Detroit!
BLOGS I LIKE
Prolific blogger living somewhere in Asia. Breaks lots of royalty related news and finds details in program changes before the next blogger notices. Deserves a lot more recognition imho.
Always interesting and fascinating stuff revolving around, well, World Geography, my favorite subject back in my school days. Prepare to go on a visual journey somewhere on Planet Earth.
One of the most knowledgeable bloggers in the miles/points space. Veers to the most advanced subject matters. Full time traveler who also writes for other blogs/publications. I learn from this blog.
A Jewish guy from Cleveland who has developed a fantastic resource and community around deals. Almost always adds value to his posts which, bizarrely, do not feel like pure marketing pitches. Nice discussion forums too.
Slowly building a blog network. Posts with original thinking. Love the travel related posts, not all personal finance related posts but can appreciate a different view. Watch them, it appears unique and quality content is high on the priority list here.
Well, the most miles on the less amount of time possible and he means it. And about twice a year he will go on an epic rant which is just a beautiful thing!
Very well written and mostly original content. Not very frequent posting but when it comes it is really good usually.
You always find something different/original here. Always trying hard to educate readers and add value. I may not read every post but I usually find good stuff here.
Has been around a very long time, a veteran like me with very deep knowledge of this industry. Love the posts about the industry and the thinking rationale behind certain industry moves. Don’t care about his trip reports, food reviews, libertarian leaning rants against the TSA, Andaz pancakes obsession, etc. If you are in this hobby you should probably read what Gary Leff thinks.
Travel maniac. Likes to go to obscure countries. Has been to North Korea twice for crying out loud! Since most of us got in this hobby to travel you will probably enjoy some of his posts on the trips he takes, I do. He also has good knowledge of miles/points stuff and tries to post original content.
New blogger with a focus on travel photography. And we are talking simply the best photos appear here!
Excellent coverage of hotels and their royalty programs.
Blogs and has developed many techie tools for this hobby. I always like to read his points of view which tends to be unique. Not afraid to follow any line or call something what he thinks it is. I appreciate this direct approach, speak your mind, tell us how you really feel!
Does not post very often but when she does it is something really unique with great photos. She also hangs out with Yomadic so she must be a true original. No miles/points here, just pure traveling!
The blog tagline is: “Exploring the bizarre, the macabre & other secret wonders of the world”. And he does that very well, always interesting posts. For example, check out the post on smoking weed in North Korea on September 29, 2013!
Hard to pinpoint what it is about but I just love the abandoned places/urban decay photographs.
If you are in Britain you must be a reader. Posts frequently. Sometimes there is a gem. Always a good resource to ask UK/Europe questions. And saved TBB from spam drowning for insisting I run Akismet, always grateful for that.
Blog focusing on birding and ecotourism. Blogger knows a lot about miles too. You will not come here for a trip report featuring flat beds in First Class.
I like the originality of the content and refreshing way to approach the miles/points hobby. The blog has developed a great repository of content all tied together in a unique way & lingo. Great addition to improve/add to the hobby, unlike so so many new blogs that keep popping up that offer, well, not much at all!
Short, concise, educational and just plain fun to read. Special bent towards (personal) finance aspects of this hobby addiction.
BLOGS I IGNORE
This is my own personal list of several blogs I personally do not care about for several reasons that I will not single out here. The reasons include one and usually more of the following: content (quality/originality/analysis), level of aggressive selling/credit card pushing, bias in posting, disclosure policies, comment moderating/censoring, level of expertise (knowledge), etc.
Only well known blogs were included. Many smaller blogs could have made the list but I am going to respect your valuable time and not bother you listing them here.
If it is not obvious yet, the lists have NOTHING to do with commercial success, something we obviously do not know much around here at TBB lol!
Delta Points
Milevalue
The Points Guy
Points, Miles & Martinis
Deals We Like
Million Mile Secrets
The Frugal Travel Guy
Noob Traveler
Extra Pack of Peanuts
Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!
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George
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Third
Ok, if Erik claims third, I’ll be first.
which must make me second
Give The Free-quent Flyer some love (delves into nitty gritty of MS). And MileValue deserves better – yes pimps too much but he has original content worth reading. And Mile Nerd? Really? Just recycled content – not really a blogger at all. Certainly not worth reading if you read bigger blogs as you get all the info elsewhere first.
I miss the rants. And angry Ingy’s laughable self righteous indignation.
Filler post. But its Sunday and I am loving it 🙂
How come mommy points is not on any list?
I’m guessing heavy credit card pushing leaves her off the like/love lists, honest policies leave her off the avoid.
Because she’s not loved, nor sufficiently liked. And not sufficiently bad.
ABC nailed it. But she would be number one in my “Best way for bloggers to respond to criticism online”, no one comes close!!!
@TBB Maybe, but I think that the whole likable mom persona is a gimmick. She is just another one of those credit card salesmen who conveniently either fails to mention the other stuff that doesn’t pay her or mentions it once while she pushes the Chase stuff 50 times a week granted she seems more likable that other bloggers that shall remain nameless.
I agree. I do think she carries herself well like TBB indicated wrt responses to online criticism. But I despise the furious credit card salesmanship and the fact that she has personally killed some of the best known tricks from FT.
It’s generally hard to appreciate anyone who started a blog after joining FT in the late 2000s and later. And those who later became douchebags after being called out for their dumb credit card pushing and censorship.
Credit cards pay A LOT, Amazon links do NOT. So, there is a lot of biased posts in this space. My Ignore list is so full of bias is ridiculous. Most do it, it is what it is. I don’t like it either. You readers control what you do with your clicks. I am not sure MP should be up there for criticism compared to to others. Besides, she is really nice, not a gimmick.
“World Famous Blog Lists” ?????
Why your a legend in your own mind
@ Eric, Sam, TWA44: haha, I like the creativity this Sunday morning. I slept 9 hours straight, something that has not happened in ages it’s awesome! Oh, and you are all number one in my book 🙂
@ P: Yes, I read Free-quent Flyer and it is one of the blogs I am considering to add in my lists (the Like one). Really good stuff, i like how he researches and puts his own skin out there so to speak. I disagree about Milevalue. There are instances in life where you need to take a stand. You know, like not flying Delta again 🙂
@ Agenda Guy: Yep, filler post indeed! i decided to do it after I read the 1,345,469th post about the Companion Pass and how life on earth is about to end if we do not apply for the Southwest cards by March 5 because, omg, they are going away. I wonder if they will come back again, what do you think? 🙂 This is the second time ever I make a post about my Lists since I started my blog. I say this type of filler post has better content 🙂 TJ is on the right track;-)
@ Anonymous: Are we grumpy again? Obviously, you did not get the joke. Entertainment is a big part of what TBB is. “World famous” is ridiculous and hopefully added some smiles in readers’ faces this morning.
More snow overnight, this is just beyond ridiculous!
“There are instances in life where you need to take a stand. You know, like not flying Delta again”
Just add not PAYING to fly Delta again, and I couldn’t agree more.
Well said, but I make an exception there when Delta offers $75 tickets to Hawaii. And then credit to AS. Also OTR belongs on one of those lists.
Yeah I agree but I am sure them assholes will sneak a fee somewhere 🙂
Yeah, I like OTR’s humor no doubt. It is on the Watch list…
I, too, have enjoyed Milenomics, but when clicking on the link, I’m advised “This site has been archived or suspended”.
Ooops, thought I had this one fixed some time ago when this blog moved to its own domain. Fixed now, sorry about that! And thanks for letting me know!
On my Blogs I Don’t Like List I have a blog called TBB. All he does is link to other blogs and pimp an Amazon affiliate link.
(Yes this is sarcastic TBB is my favor blog of ANY subject matter!)
After I read your first sentence some people would get angry. Not me. I laughed about it and laughed more with your second sentence. Well played 🙂
Snagged three free SPG nights at the official wedding hotel for a wedding we’ll be attending in Sept. Even sweeter is that I got them before the hotel moves up a category. Many of the folks who roll their eyes (aka some of my good friends!) will be paying real dollars for their rooms. I even posted on FB to show them that it is not such a silly thing to do after all, and yes, I can get value from all those points I collect.
Got a dishwasher at Home Depot yesterday. They matched best price I found online and then took 10% off that since they were running a special. Decided not to pay for it with HICGs because using an AMEX card doubled the warranty.
BTW, there are some pesky rules about whether the warranty can double when the item is “permanently attached to a structure.” For example, some T&Cs specifically exclude ceiling fans and I saw some stuff online where Visa did not honor the extended warranty on dishwashers. I did not see exclusionary language in the T&Cs for the SPG AMEX so decided that card was the best bet as my warranty doubler. Hopefully I won’t need it. Dishwasher comes Thursday and I am debating giving it a real workout by saving the dishes we’ll use til then….
Great score!
I have sacrificed points to put expensive purchases on Amex cards for the extra bennies. It is the right thing to do. Hopefully you won’t need it but it is good peace of mind.
I generally agree with your division of the blogs, and I’m glad you take the time to do it. I’ve always felt your blog is a good “mouthpiece” for us grizzled, knowledgeable veterans of the mileage game, who play the game because we love it.
There’s obviously no licensing requirement for being a mileage blogger. Anyone can do it. It seems to be that the most ambitious — the ones who want to make a BUSINESS out of this — tend to get the most page views. But ambition does not equal talent. And talent can’t really be learned. I’m somewhat reluctant to say this, but I also think IQ is EXTREMELY important in being a good mileage blogger. You have to be pretty darn brilliant to be good at this — and brilliant in a gaming way. To the sophisticated veterans of this game, it’s often painfully obvious that some of the most ambitious mileage bloggers are not the most brilliant.
If I was doing my “Best TBB Comments” filler posts I would definitely include yours! I agree 100%. Thank you!
It is late, my brain is fried, need to get some sleep!
like – frequent miler, view from the wing, flight deal, mile nerd, travel summary, loyalty lobby
hate – million mile secrets, mile value, frugal travel guy
I almost went with “Hate” but felt it is too strong as I really don’t hate anybody. I reserve the right to add a list “Blogs I can’t stand” or something similar. Just what I read this am: Milevalue’s ridiculous attempt to get more attention by ripping the New York Times writer who probably knows more than he “free oneway” does! Some people will write ANYTHING to push more credit cards…Yikes!
I generally ignore your same list. Though if a google search for something I’m seeking happens to link to them (usually it’s because I’m searching info about a specific luxury hotel and they have a trip report) then I’ll click it. But that’s basically it.
Me too:-)
I’m a little late to this list and very new to this addictive hobby myself. Sadly, the blogs on your Avoid list are the bulk of what I’ve been reading! However, I’ve spent about fifteen minutes on some of the blogs on your Love/Like list and I already feel edified by the info there.
Thanks for keeping this updated!
It’s okay. Most start on that list but they quickly realize that there is better information out there by bloggers who add real value other than marketing machines 😉
Thank you for taking the time to comment, these positive comments mean a lot.