MilesBuzz! - Who wants to earn a million miles? More with Pudding Guy on NBC

"I like to travel, and I try to take advantage of free travel as much as possible"
http://www.msnbc.com/news/384713.asp

DOC thanks,
Just read the article since not in the states now i'll comment that the article was an exact transcript.As much as I'd like to say CHEERS PG, I'm left with a very lousy taste in my mouth it seems bet the HC deal and PR and now this with LP not once does he mention FT where I assume he got much of his imfo from. I cant help but feel that he owes many people on these threads alot of thanks something he just hasnt said publicly
Again Im overseas and based my comments only on the articles on the web for both deals,I hereby ask PG for forgiveness if in fact he did mention FT etc in EACH case.But as the article above it just doesnt seem so.
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I was advised not to EDIT but I just decided that it wouldnt be proper to leave certain sentences which was WAY out of line on my part, I wasnt forced to edit and yet left enough although they are WRONG assumptions on my part!!!! so as not to try the wrong on my part and make it as if it didnt occur for it did. I thank you all that have e-mailed both pro & con 3/23/00


[This message has been edited by craz (edited 03-23-2000).]

No, FlyerTalk wasn't mentioned in the recent Today interview. (I didn't say hi to my wife and daughter either!) However, I've made a big effort throughout this craziness to plug FlyerTalk whenever possible. See this week's Time (3/27, page 15)as an example. When I was first contacted, I asked Steve Lopez to interview Randy and reference FlyerTalk in the story, which he did.

You can't please everyone. Some FlyerTalkers probably don't like the increased site traffic that the press coverage has created!

For the record, I completed my pudding project before I ever heard of FlyerTalk. I found the site when I began researching how to use my miles.

FlyerTalk was obviously very helpful in planning my LatinPass trips. Without FlyerTalk, I might not have even heard about the promotion. But this hasn't been a one-way ticket. If you review the LatinPass threads, you'll note that I've been contributing what I can to help others plan their trips.

If the bad taste remains, how about some chocolate pudding http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif.

Craz- I'm guessing that perhaps this is the part that may be bothering you:

"This one I’m being a little more secretive about. I don’t want to give away all my secrets on the routes."

That's Daves' choice (even if we can't see exactly why or don't agree).

Can I ask, Pudding Guy, have the miles been posted to your LP account yet?

PG, I hope this to be my last post on the thread.
1) I did mention I am based overseas so I don't question it if you knew about HC before hand. I for one found FT by mistake dont really remember how but thankful that I did which was in Nov'99.
2) Yes I know that you have posted on your LP trip and we all thank-you as well as the others for it.
3) I feel bad in that I probably have taken more than I gave but look for every chance to give back where I can to help those that might benefit from that which I know of be it be first hand or not.
4) what got to me was the article gave ME the impression that it seemed that you were MR.know it all on the FF stage- while if it wasnt for the good folks here at FT we all would be that much poorer thats all. Since I for one havent done the LP trip I dont harbour anything personal against you nor feel that I am deserved any credit.If it wasnt for the good people I would be 20,000 miles less with DL- I wouldnt have gotten 150,000 miles on AA w/o a flight(no I didnt participate in the HC deal)
5) if i remember correctly my last item above said if in fact I was wrong that I was sorry. No way was I looking to start any feud or anything that might be taken that way!!

I didn't want to discuss the routing on Today out of consideration for LatinPass. As we all know, there's many different ways to do the routing. Can you imagine the result if just a small fraction of the Today show's viewers simply wanted to book "the pudding guy" route? For those that ask, I direct them to FlyerTalk.

Just for the record I would like to say that I found Flyer Talk through one of the earlier radio interviews Pudding Guy gave on the "Howie Carr Show" (locak shock-jock talk show) here in Boston. I thought then that he did a fine job pointing people in this direction for helpful information on free travel.

Just for the record I would like to say that I found Flyer Talk through one of the earlier radio interviews Pudding Guy gave on the "Howie Carr Show" (locak shock-jock talk show) here in Boston. I thought then that he did a fine job pointing people in this direction for helpful information on free travel.

The one thing I always do is give the information where it is due. Of course, I always give the glory to God, but I give the credit to FlyerTalk for getting me more miles/status/etc than I could have on my own. IE, double miles, routings, and helpful hints.

For me, it always makes me feel more comfortable when I get less credit and can give it to someone else.. or someplace else...

Just my 2 cents http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

But I am not specifically talking about this situation, just what I do.

Dave--I have no reason to doubt your report that you didn't even find Flyertalk until after the great pudding adventure. Just read the Time Magazine article, and it plays up Flyertalk, which I am sure you had something to do with. You have been very willing to share your information with others on the board since your arrival here. Glad you have the miles. Enjoy them with your family. My wife and I and 3 others will be doing our 500K run in early June, so we'll have lots of miles ourselves.

Djlawman

BTW--we visit out your way every couple of years and stop in to see one of my good friends who owns Frog's Leap winery in Napa (and went to UC Davis where you work). If we're out there, I'll look you up.

Hi everyone. Wow, I read an article in Time on a guy that will travel the world for practically free & within 5 minutes I'm reading a net post from that guy! And the website wasn't flooded! So do you think this'll be reined in now that the secret is out.
-Prisoner in Ohio

To Chryse,
Join the club and travel the world. Join Mypoints, join Clickrewards, of course join every airline frequent flyer and hotel plan out there (even if you never plan to use them), change your phone service every four or five months, buy something for five dollars just because you will get an extra 500 miles, stay in a different hotel every night of your vacation because that maximizes your hotel points, and travel whirlwind itineraries to foreign countries that your friends and colleagues just can't fathom -- welcome to the world of Flyertalk.

[This message has been edited by satori (edited 03-22-2000).]

doc, I don't know if my LatinPass miles have posted yet. I'm expecting it may take some time. LatinPass told me that the airlines post fairly quickly, but the hotels and cars can take longer.

By the way, I should mention another important travel tip: Watch your step in NYC!! I managed to step in a huge pile of dog cr*p only minutes after leaving NBC. Thank goodness this happened BEFORE the interview.

I didn't see the NBC interview, nor have I had a chance to see the Time article, but I still think Pudding Guy has been very creative in the way he got his miles. It's still a great story and it's no wonder people want to interview you.

Pudding Guy: Here in the Big Apple, we believe in crediting miles for nearly everything. Check out http://www.dogcr*pmiles.com

PG, my beef(NOT PUDDING) wasnt with you not revealing the routes you took! I just couldn't figure out how the heck NBC and the rest of the media even knew you did this thing with LP or that it even existed unless some-one went to the MEDIA! If in fact NBC etc found out on their own then BIG BROTHER has arrived!!
It just came off as if you want a heck of alot more than your 15 mins of fame. Yes I give you tremendous credit for the HC deal and I have no probs with you doing all the media stuff on that since you were doing it before you got to FT and took it to them to the cleaners, my hat comes off to you for THAT ONE. However this LP thing is IMHO, just an EGO thing by you since it wasnt yours to begin with nor did you do to it as you did with HC, if you found a way to get 10,000,000 or anything more than what wasoffered I might feel different. Im also worried that if ever again something great comes along everyone will have to act before PG runs to the media otherwise it'll be over and done with. Yes I give you credit for posting to act fast and sign-up if you didn't but then again if you hadn't gone to the press there wouldn't have been any dead-lines for joining!! I for one have learnt a great deal from these boards I don't recall ever trying to pass on imfo that I didn't find on my own as if it was my idea. Its a pleasure to be able to post responses to others questions and hopefully aid them in their quest for more miles and free tkts. The more people joining our boards hopefully will bring more opportunities for each of us to gain miles etc. It just seems you have this craving for attention which is your problem but I would be the first to congradulate you and have no problem with the press if in fact you were the one who came up with the idea,which was NOT the case by LP,but from all signs it sure seemed as if that was the impression you tried to get across that it was YOURS. Hopefully you'll think twice next time and maybe not even go to the press if it wasnt your idea even if you gave proper credit where it was due WHY GO TO THE MEDIA?? if not that you crave the attention, why not just do the things post on FT if you so desire and leave the press out of it, otherwise who knows maybe all the bebefits will cease, many people post offers that weren't made to the general public that till now we were able to take advantage of, now things may change,only time will tell.

Craz, please try to relax a bit. No one FT'er is responsible for any of this - no less LP's reaction to the success of their own promo! And further criticism and bickering will get none of us anywhere, right?

Their lack of faithfulness to their own LP customers, the attention to the Pudding Guy...we need to simply accept it all- frustration notwithstanding. Some enjoy publicity and others shun it.

For example, at the Freddies, I neglected to go up to have my photo taken with the group in attendance when FT got the award last January in NYC- that's my choice! Some will and some wont - and some will perhaps change and do it differently the next time!

To each his/her own, IMHO! Just my 0.02!

I probably won't be able to change craz's sentiments, but I'll share some details...

First of all, I didn't initiate any of the press coverage. The chain of events began when I told the pudding story here on FlyerTalk and another member forwarded it off to Jane Costello at WSJ.com. Once her story ran, the whole thing just exploded. At this point Randy Peterson encouraged me to have some fun with it, with the thought that the coverage would be good for FlyerTalk. With that said, I'll freely admit I've got no shortage of ego and that I've been enjoying the attention.

The LatinPass coverage came as a follow-up to the pudding story. During the first round of interviews I was frequently asked, "what's next?" and I told several reporters that I was considering the LatinPass promotion. One of these reporters, Anthony Robertson with the Sacramento Bee, called me for a follow-up interview while I was flying around during our first trip. When I got back and returned his call, he asked me if I'd been flying around South America. I told him about the trip and he ran a follow-up article in the Bee. Well it happened that a reporter with Time Magazine was in the area visiting his parents and saw the Bee article. He liked the story and contacted me--hence the Time piece.

Around the same time, Jane Costello called me to find out if I was going to take advantage of the new AAdvantage cereal promotion. I told her I was now pretty well set for miles thanks to Healthy Choice and LatinPass. She wrote a brief follow-up story for the Journal, which prompted Today to bring me in for a follow-up interview.

In the Today interview, I never intended to claim "ownership" of the LatinPass promotion or meant to imply that I had found undiscovered territory. InsideFlyer brought this promotion to the world's attention. The surprise for me, given the longstanding discussions about this promotion on FlyerTalk, was hearing from LatinPass that my friends and I were the first people to earn the million mile bonus.

Now I'll be quiet for a while.

PG, I take you at your word that you didn't run after the press.I just wish you said something to that, in your first reply to my post so that I would have apologized then and there and all would have been done with. I am sorry but in my first post I did say I was basing everything on the article that came via DOC,and if my conclusions were wrong I was sorry to BEGIN with, I do wish you would have set the record and me straight to begin with.
PG, this thought is NOT per say for you but for all. I believe the HC pr was done either after it was over(media wise) or close to the end of the run. LP came out in the middle of the run, I do believe I wouldn't have felt nearly as bad if it was done after 7/1 (last day of the bonus) or close to it.The pt being maybe for the future all of us try to keep a lid on things with the media till the program is either over or close to being over.
PG,I APOLOGIZE .

Craz - i hope you have learned something from all of this - not to jump to conclusions and view other people with mal-intent. Maybe you ought to ask more questions rather than be so reactive and then have to apologize. I don't think PG did anything in the least bit "wrong" Although interesting to hear about the sequence of events, PG doesn't have to justify a **** thing. He was creative and respected by many of us. No one has a crystal ball knowing the perfect time to share anything and know what will happen with the sharing of it. Talking about something in the media BEFORE it is over, is in the spirit of FT in that other people can share in the same opportunity. Why wait til it's over? Now, let's let it go.

------------------
DtG

As the guy that knows more of how this all happened and also the effects of it for community, I'd like you all to know that Pudding Guy has been honorable from day one on this. Being pushed in front of the media is not an easy task at hand and as someone that averages 20 interviews a week anyway, I know from experience that it is difficult to sometimes have the time and the space to get a point across. Pudding Guy has done remarkably well during all this. He did in fact come upon the idea to leverage HC for miles on his own and was among many who later on way able to offer advice and suggestions for addtional people to take advantage of this earning opportunity. He's one of us, and I for one am very proud of that.

Thanks very much Randy.

And FT is prominently featured in the current WSJ article as mentioned. See:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum1/HTML/002487.html

FYI - Our party of six finished the 1,000,000 mile promo on 3/05 so who ever said you were the first to finish was slightly wrong. Who knows there may have even been some completed before then?

[This message has been edited by Sydneyjb (edited 03-25-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Sydneyjb (edited 03-25-2000).]

By the way was your airline ticket to New York paid for by NBC or did you use one of your many free tickets?

Congrats Sydneyjb and company! How was the trip?

Maybe the LatinPass folks were talking about the 500,000 mile bonus. Who knows?

Yes, NBC paid for the tix to NY. I got a few thousand more miles in the process. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif This was first flight on United in many years. Nice trip. SFO-JFK-SFO on 767s.

Craz

Please just go quiet as regards pudding guy !

I've had enough !

Thanking you kindly in anticipation

[please delete]

[This message has been edited by Flying Dutchman (edited 03-25-2000).]

Please do let us all know when the LP miles do actually post, Pudding Guy.

Thanks very much http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Please do let us all know when the LP miles do actually post, Pudding Guy.

Thanks very much http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Glad to learn that they finally did post Pudding Guy! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif As you know, there is great interest! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Thanks again, Dave. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by doc (edited 02-24-2001).]