Astrophsx

A full Emirates kit can sell for $150+ on eBay. I do find it tacky when people scavenge for kits during/after a flight. On a China Southern flight I saw 3 guys with about 12 kits each in business class.

CMK10

Rides a bicycle to someone's house?

cruisr

Pot. Kettle. Geez. And I love all the fan boys who post defending anything he does. If you disagree you are a troll? We MUST not find fault with anything Lucky does. I have visions of that You Tube about "Leave Brittany Alone" and substitute Lucky for Brittany.

steveman518

Only if he's riding first class

Kagehitokiri

actually, this post about breakfast fits right in with his dont ask for anything. the post starts with an emotional response, then moves into a statement which i dont think is meant to be taken literally, but as some kind of ironic clever humor. that involves making fun of people. but its ok, because they deserve it, and theyre one percenters, etc. and they are always "ridiculous" (quote from post) unlike 'us' (implied)

as others have said - this is what a lot of readers find likeable, funny, entertaining, enjoyable, etc
(in another post he mentioned how much he loved reality tv and real housewives, for "drama")

i guess he never noticed the quotes from amanresorts that they do not expect their regular guests to order from their menus, they expect their regular guests to order what they want, and they will prepare it for them, because thats what service means.

LR2013

You are onto something with the emotions, I think. Look at the comments section in the newly published article on "10 best cc offers for Feb." Over-zealous, defensive fanboys are attacking anyone who criticizes, disagrees or asks a perceived "dumb" question. Ben should have the palace guard tone it down some, it's not helping his or their credibility with these attacks.

cruisr

What I said post #183. There are some serious crushes on him from some of his fans.

Kagehitokiri

in addition to emotional - dramatic / melodramatic / over dramatic (Drama with capital D)
but its a blog, so balance (the line) between personality trait and writing style is not clear

"Over-zealous, defensive fanboys are attacking" - sometimes similar situation, they sometimes later state that their comments were not intended to be taken 'literally' and claim that anyone who takes them literally are somehow inferior for that additional reason

HouFly

I'm at that point with Ben where I dont believe much of what he writes about any more. every passing day it becomes more and more clear, he will sometimes take the most extreme position on any given topic because controversy and drama sells. it's also abundantly clear he's run out of original content at this point, the travel burn out point not withstanding, I think after all these years of writing he's venturing into a bit of fiction blogging.


I mean you dont have to look far, one week he'll write a post defending the Big ME3, and the next week he will turn around and defend the Big 3 American carriers he had on blast. why? because he learned some new information that COMPLETELY changed his mind 180... OR maybe he doesnt actually care about the topic as much as anything to get hits and pageviews up. and what better way than to pander to the entire spectrum of your readers.


I felt that same icky feeling when he was defending UA for not honoring the mistake fare, calling out readers for participating in such deals or getting DOT involved. that's all fine and dandy. but then a couple days later he gets his lap dog (these other random contributors? who's opinion no one actually cares about) to chastise his original post, not a little bit but with the complete opposite viewpoint akin to how mistake fares are M&P folks birthright. you tell me, if not deliberate, which employee could talk to his boss like that - straight up flame him and get away with it? oh the drama, too bad it was boring. instead of contributors from his award service employees, Ben might wanna hire some even B-level hollywood script writers to etch out better blog drama if he wants this blog to go anywhere from here on out.


I dont honestly even buy the full drama with his mom, as much as it was hyped with click bait titles and cliffhanger posts that explicitly asked viewers to stay tuned for more details. sounds very much like scripting to me regardless of the other variables he was actually waiting on.

DC777Fan

This post and a few others I've noticed of his are a cry for help. This dude needs a regular life and friends he can talk to about stupid funny stuff he observed over the course of the day. Usually ~18-27 year olds call these people "roommates" and ~27+ year olds call these people "spouses."

Is it fun to fly around the world, have no real responsibilities and stay in 5 star hotels? Yes, I'm sure it is--particularly if you love flying (and nobody can doubt that about him). But it's no way to live 12 months/year, and I think it's starting to affect him.

Kagehitokiri

its standard social media content.. i would not try to interpret from another perspective

84fiero

Interesting, especially from the same blog that not long ago had this to say:

Kagehitokiri

but its ok to judge people who have more money, because ...

cruisr

I think his drama is getting a bit old. I think others are getting a bit sick of it too.

Astrophsx

Beyond having PointsPros, I'd have to wonder if Ben does not have some sort of backup plan or future strategy. Others have mentioned how sustainable his travel is. I've seen more flights booked on cash. He does give a good amount of insight on how his miles/points have been acquired in the past. I just figure he will eventually sell his blog like FTG or do something like TPG. With all that first class travel, seminars, media events, and things with credit card and travel companies... I'd assume he has done a lot of great networking and has an exit strategy for a year or two down the road.

Or... maybe I'm completely wrong. He is now posting more each day than he ever has before. Maybe it is becoming an addiction or obsession? The "drama" that you are referring to may be related to his short posts of observations that other bloggers would post on Facebook/Twitter instead of their blog.