sbm12

Quite the opposite. He is outright hostile to them without acknowledging that they can be useful in certain circumstances. The part where he also doesn't explain why he hates them makes it particularly difficult to trust his views on the topic. I know they're not for everyone, but I also know how to appreciate both sides of the discussion. He does not appear to do so.

TravelerMSY

He's got his own opinions that for sure. No worries. More award inventory for us then. It's hard enough now that online booking along with paid professional booking services has made the availability easier to find for the masses.

belfordrocks

Isn't he the one who called us all thieves and con artists?

FlyFasterFlyFarther

Do people really think he's on the level with all of that? Surely he's trying to rile us up, make controversial claims, generate clicks. People here on Flyertalk, ont he blogs discuss him... link to him... his stuff gets passed around Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn that much more. I'm 80% certain it's largely fake.

Tiki

Please note the title of this thread, there is more than one way of being useful!

We need a counterfoil to all the bloggers who virtually stand on street corners shouting to the masses about credit cards. They will ultimately cause over-inflation when too many people are chasing too few award seats. I wish there were 20 more blogs like Chris Elliott's!

I do like his posts for consumer advocate info and things to watch out for.

oliver2002

Especially the blog entry where he asks for money to continue his work

oliver2002

Why not report the threads using the AMP triangle? I'm sure the mod will take a look at them.

kokonutz

I always thought the same thing: he discourages and betlittles points and miles and elite benefits to keep people away from them and have more for himself.

Kind of like Seattleites who always tell anyone from California that it ALWAYS rains in Seattle.

mnscout

Why, now you've left me hanging

Well, of course, I churn conservatively for some, "just" about every 4 months for myself and wife. Being how "conservative" I am, applying for an extra non FM card has never been a problem for me. And some Discover cards are super valuable, like Discover Walmart, for instance, gives you a true FICO score once a month. So no, I wouldn't hesitate to apply for one or two "extra" cards a year if I felt inclined to do so. I think, it's a good idea to have at least one Discover card in your wallet for Discover Mall, if nothing else. If you already have one, then feel free to disregard.

Now, if you expect the need for a major loan in the near future, that's another story, but otherwise your $500 opportunity cost claim sounds like a hell of an overstatement.

HikerT

Opportunity cost is a difficult concept to explain. As I indicated up front, an extra inquiry isn't going to matter to the average Joe following TPG's advice, but for those who push the limits each inquiry does come with an opportunity cost. I might lower or raise the $500 depending on which rating agency it might hit, but I do think it's a reasonable number to use. If you aren't pushing the limits and have capacity for another inquiry (wherever it may fall) then you could argue the extra inquiry isn't costing you anything. I'd say the opportunity cost didn't go away, it was already accounted for in your decision to not push the limits (which may have some offsetting benefits).

As far as the Discover card, I don't necessarily think it's a horrible choice. You might get $500 in benefit long term. I'd probably wait for a better sign up bonus. It certainly wouldn't go in my top 5 cash back cards, but then, I'm not being compensated for advice.

ma91pmh

The last point and your dig is irrelevant... it does go into my top 5 cash back cards, and I am not being compensated for advice either

And I also think you are wrong on the opportunity costs too. As I have said before I don't believe there are issuers out there where an incremental inquiry as an affect either way. At the level of churning I do personally (typically 6+ per 3 months) either you work with issuers who you can talk around the inquiry problem with (so if it's 12 or 13 or 15 in the last 6 months it's all the same) or issuers where just having a few in the last 3/6/12 months knocks you out regardless. So one more inquiry has no opportunity cost either way.

The only time there is a real OC is when in one given churn you decide what your inquiry limit is and the Discover card takes one of those. You are then actively deciding to use up one of your "available" inquiries. But if you are doing 6+ cards every 3 months for many years, there is always going to be space for every single card you can possibly get

HikerT

Don't take it personally. I had no idea you were promoting the Discover card. I was referring to TPG's list.

ma91pmh

I am not promoting the Discover the card. I am giving my opinion on it. Nice try at distortion

HikerT

Honestly, I'm not trying to distort anything. It seemed like you were ruffled that I was taking a personal dig against you. Not in the least. I wouldn't even come up with such a silly top 5 list unless I was trying to sell the card. That's just a referral talking.

Similarly for Freedom, you rarely see any of these bloggers suggesting people convert one of their other Chase cards to Freedom. Instead they throw up their referral links every time there's an angle to do so. That's a horrible use for a Chase inquiry IMHO.

MileageUpdate

I dont see how Discovery Card can be in your top 5 of anything earnings CC. I jsut dont see it. Not even sure if its in the discussion of top 10.