One Mile at a Time [OMaaT] discussions [merged]
Jul 28, 2015, 3:33 pm
#751
Join Date: Dec 2004
Programs: UA-1K, MM, Hilton-Diamond, Marriott-Titanium
Posts: 4,432
There are a couple of things here that aren't quite right.
That earlier comment, admired not once but twice, wasn't "perfectly stated." Ben doesn't do MS. I have no idea why, but my personal guesses would be no need and no time.
And second, he does use social media reach-outs but, so far as I can tell, only post-hoc to resolve problems. I've followed the blog closely for years and can't recall a single instance where he did so in advance. TPG, on the other hand, is a different story; but that blog has other, bigger issues.
The "free stuff" thing happens pretty rarely with Ben, as previously noted upthread, and has always been disclosed. I wonder if that'll change, the accepting free stuff part?
And speaking of change, there was a new guest writer today, with a review of a South African hotel. It was really tight, well done. I was impressed. Maybe it helped that the subject, a presidential suite that used to be Mandela's quarters, was fascinating.
Ok, on the negative side one new aspect of the blog that I could really do without is the gay camp that seems to be seeping into the comments. Not my thing. So I come here and what do I find? Stuff that's, well, also not my thing.
Maybe it's all really like reading Zola's French. Any bit of Nineteenth Century slang describing a young woman means exactly what you think it means. You don't have to look it up.
That earlier comment, admired not once but twice, wasn't "perfectly stated." Ben doesn't do MS. I have no idea why, but my personal guesses would be no need and no time.
And second, he does use social media reach-outs but, so far as I can tell, only post-hoc to resolve problems. I've followed the blog closely for years and can't recall a single instance where he did so in advance. TPG, on the other hand, is a different story; but that blog has other, bigger issues.
The "free stuff" thing happens pretty rarely with Ben, as previously noted upthread, and has always been disclosed. I wonder if that'll change, the accepting free stuff part?
And speaking of change, there was a new guest writer today, with a review of a South African hotel. It was really tight, well done. I was impressed. Maybe it helped that the subject, a presidential suite that used to be Mandela's quarters, was fascinating.
Ok, on the negative side one new aspect of the blog that I could really do without is the gay camp that seems to be seeping into the comments. Not my thing. So I come here and what do I find? Stuff that's, well, also not my thing.
Maybe it's all really like reading Zola's French. Any bit of Nineteenth Century slang describing a young woman means exactly what you think it means. You don't have to look it up.
LOL You must be a hater if you don't like the blogs about the Hello Kitty plane, Taylor Swift and One Direction.
Quite frankly, whether a blogger says they reach out or they don't say they reach out I would say maybe 5% really don't. The others IMHO do, regardless of what they say or don't say. I've lost a lot of respect for many of the BA bloggers and also for a lot of independents. There are still some who I know I can trust such as Travel is Free and Wandering Aramean for example so I give them my clicks and if applicable, my CC apps.
Jul 28, 2015, 3:41 pm
#752
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: DFW
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold, Admirals Club, Global Entry
Posts: 1,141
I would respectfully disagree in Ben's particular case, but I do agree (as already noted by someone above) that the bigger "risk" now is that Ben will be recognized.
On the flip side, though, low-level desk clerks and FAs aren't necessarily big-time television news program watchers or newspaper readers, and so I could be wrong.
On the flip side, though, low-level desk clerks and FAs aren't necessarily big-time television news program watchers or newspaper readers, and so I could be wrong.
Jul 28, 2015, 4:24 pm
#753
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 3,737
An example of TPG is in a recent blog post the PR team made the writer a cake! Emirates also made Lucky's dad a cake in the lounge.. not just a tiny cupcake. I'm not sure if that is typical of the airline?
Jul 28, 2015, 4:27 pm
#754
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: IAD/DCA
Posts: 31,797
someone just mentioned PR
others earlier discussed paid media
earned media can be from PR
most arent aware of scale of this
most also are not aware of how effectively one can be tracked (and treated differently by providers they use) including via open source intelligence, no skills required, skills just dramatically increase capability
however, most also overestimate treatment of 'bloggers'
wasnt ben live reporting from w barcelona from beginning?
was also example of lack of awareness/experience in some areas
without discussing it, he also visited friends there (not in hotels)
i come across as discreet, but im not, i just dont do personality on FT
considering how much ive learned here, i try to provide any information / recollection i can, since i dont have the same travel experience as others - im sometimes a 'research librarian' here
others earlier discussed paid media
earned media can be from PR
most arent aware of scale of this
most also are not aware of how effectively one can be tracked (and treated differently by providers they use) including via open source intelligence, no skills required, skills just dramatically increase capability
however, most also overestimate treatment of 'bloggers'
wasnt ben live reporting from w barcelona from beginning?
was also example of lack of awareness/experience in some areas
without discussing it, he also visited friends there (not in hotels)
considering how much ive learned here, i try to provide any information / recollection i can, since i dont have the same travel experience as others - im sometimes a 'research librarian' here
Last edited by Kagehitokiri; Jul 28, 2015 at 4:40 pm
Jul 28, 2015, 4:30 pm
#755
Join Date: May 2006
Location: SAN
Programs: Lots of faux metal
Posts: 6,422
He was on Nightline, too? It's an all-out media blitz. Just wait for the buyout. 
Now check his trending.
Now check his trending.
This is also interesting: http://www.google.com/trends/explore...=Etc%2FGMT%2B7
Seems the advertainment in RS was worth the money.
Seems the advertainment in RS was worth the money.
Jul 28, 2015, 4:32 pm
#756
Original Member, Ambassador: External Miles and Points Resources
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Digital Nomad Wandering the Earth - Currently in LIMA, PERU
Posts: 58,607
Great for Ben's business. Terrible for the rest of us.
"Shedding light on MS is usually a bad thing for us."
Absolutely true. And while Ben may or may not MS, he certainly churns. And MS is part of the h***y.
"Also saying, "we're outsmarting the airlines" is not good PR, either. We're not outsmarting the airlines, we're outsmarting everyone else!"
This is the part that is really perfectly stated. And where Ben really did a disservice to those who pay close attention to points and miles. By framing it as us-against-them with the airlines all he is doing is proving the point of the UA exec who called us all 'over-entitled elites.' Hell, maybe he was specifically referring to Ben when he said that, based on how Ben took advantage of UA!!! @:-)@:-)@:-)
Jul 28, 2015, 4:36 pm
#757
Join Date: Dec 2004
Programs: UA-1K, MM, Hilton-Diamond, Marriott-Titanium
Posts: 4,432
And to someone who posted upthread about the cake for Bens Dad. No, that is NOT typical. I think they were trying to impress someone and it wasn't Ben's Dad.
Jul 28, 2015, 4:38 pm
#758
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: DFW
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold, Admirals Club, Global Entry
Posts: 1,141
Oh come now. Having an online and social media presence generally is not the same as trolling a hotel for special treatment in advance.
As for the birthday cake adventure, there's simply no way to spin than negatively. (Not that I'll even pretend to understand how ME & Asian carriers operate.)
I don't think One Mile at a Time is unusual in this respect, at least among the other Boarding Area blogs I more-or-less follow.
You're perfectly free to think otherwise, of course.
The irony lurking here, by the way, is that I tend to like the posts that are full of service misadventures -- of which there appear to be many -- a lot more than those where everything's just great. That's boring, at least to me.
As for the birthday cake adventure, there's simply no way to spin than negatively. (Not that I'll even pretend to understand how ME & Asian carriers operate.)
I don't think One Mile at a Time is unusual in this respect, at least among the other Boarding Area blogs I more-or-less follow.
You're perfectly free to think otherwise, of course.
The irony lurking here, by the way, is that I tend to like the posts that are full of service misadventures -- of which there appear to be many -- a lot more than those where everything's just great. That's boring, at least to me.
Jul 28, 2015, 5:01 pm
#759
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Upper Sternistan
Posts: 10,037
At heart, aren't all of these bloggers just current version of people like Tom Vu and other hucksters?
Tom Vu and his ilk purported to show you how to buy distressed property with no money down, but in reality, they were selling a lifestyle.
The customer was YOU - YOU paid for the seminar or the book or the complete package in three easy payments plus shipping and handling. These guys were never about buying the real estate themselves, or they weren't for long, anyway. They were trying to capitalize on their systems. If they really wanted to score big with real estate, they wouldn't be out preaching their systems and seminars and generating tons of competitors for the distressed properties. They'd be buying the distressed properties as quietly as possible.
Ben doesn't sell a seminar - he gets affiliate credit for your credit card signup. Effectively, same thing.
So Tom Vu drove his Rolls full of women in bikinis to his yacht.
Ben's analog is drinking Krug on a rose petal bed in a Singapore Suite.
Tom had to make the lifestyle look appealing to fill seats. Ben has to make the lifestyle appealing to get those credit card apps. Tom wasn't about the real estate - it was a means to an end: money.
Tom's customer was you. Ben's customer is you.
Tom Vu and his ilk purported to show you how to buy distressed property with no money down, but in reality, they were selling a lifestyle.
The customer was YOU - YOU paid for the seminar or the book or the complete package in three easy payments plus shipping and handling. These guys were never about buying the real estate themselves, or they weren't for long, anyway. They were trying to capitalize on their systems. If they really wanted to score big with real estate, they wouldn't be out preaching their systems and seminars and generating tons of competitors for the distressed properties. They'd be buying the distressed properties as quietly as possible.
Ben doesn't sell a seminar - he gets affiliate credit for your credit card signup. Effectively, same thing.
So Tom Vu drove his Rolls full of women in bikinis to his yacht.
Ben's analog is drinking Krug on a rose petal bed in a Singapore Suite.
Tom had to make the lifestyle look appealing to fill seats. Ben has to make the lifestyle appealing to get those credit card apps. Tom wasn't about the real estate - it was a means to an end: money.
Tom's customer was you. Ben's customer is you.
Jul 28, 2015, 5:13 pm
#760
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Virginia, USA
Posts: 4,508
Airline executives and mid-level managers talk to each both within the company and to colleagues at the competition. I'm sure many have, by now, asked about and been told all the details regarding Ben's misadventures at UA. And I can't imagine any of them liking what they heard. Icing on the cake would be the "idiot" comment.
Jul 28, 2015, 5:34 pm
#762
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Virginia, USA
Posts: 4,508
3-4 years I would guess. I remember his writing about UA all the time and then it suddenly stopped. Being banned by an airline and loosing all your frequent flyer miles is a pretty big deal. AA has previously been pretty kind to him but this is not the kind of behavior Doug Parker would take a shine to.
Jul 28, 2015, 5:48 pm
#764
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Virginia, USA
Posts: 4,508