lwildernorva

Of course Ben (and Gary as well) has a huge following--in fact, he's one of the most read points blogs as we all know. And, in part, that's because he was a relatively early presence in the field and his blog had a history of producing some real and interesting content. I enjoyed Ben's early days blogging because he brought a real sense of wonder to the adventures he was having.

But he's lost a fair amount of that wonder, unless he's salivating over the First Residence, and like so many bloggers has traded off a certain amount of interesting content for credit card links. As I mentioned above, the free market drives this stuff, and it makes sense that bloggers are more likely to survive if they can make money off their avocations. That's why I don't get too incensed about the credit card links because in that view, they make sense.

On the other hand, you can't expand or even keep the number of suckers you have if occasionally you let slip that you know they're suckers. And the truth is, the average traveler (and don't be fooled, there's no way anyone can now believe Ben is the average traveler) may want to fly in the premium cabins and be called Mr. Super Platinum hotel guest, but Ben shouldn't expect to keep the majority of those travelers who know it's probably more realistic that they're going to fly Delta, United, and American on domestic trips rather than every freaking A380 out there no matter what weird routing is required to do it.

That's the danger in calling a traveler's need to fly Delta a lot "scary"--you reveal both that you think the average traveler is a sucker and that you're becoming more removed from the average traveler's experience--which eventually makes you less interesting to the majority of your readership. Add in a heavier mix of content-free material, and an inevitable drop off in readers will occur.

Few things on the internet stay static--just ask MySpace.

gpapadop

Whenever I see a reference to Kardashians I think of that mega behind

whlinder

It's an interesting contrast to the Cranky Flier who has actually turned down UA F seats to experience UA's new Slimline Economy Minus:

http://crankyflier.com/2013/12/12/a-...k-trip-report/

tng11

I don't think I can stomach OMAAT's blog much longer... I just can't stand the overly snobbish/entitled tone that wasn't there a while back. Most of these BA bloggers seem to be so divorced from reality and too blatant in their plugging of credit cards that they no longer post any more useful content.

I found it funny that a commenter on one of Ben's posts remarked about him being a spoilt brat and using 25K AA miles on a 1 hour flight. Ben's retort was that he has "millions" of miles and hence it didn't matter to him. I wonder how he does that...

farwest101

Well, they all spin the same story "Travel for FREEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! Just click here, here, here, here, here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Or in MMS' case, a "$27000" 14 part trip for ONLY $4300...click often, click fast

davie355

Ben is mad as hell!

Raffles

Whilst I never spent much time with OMAT before, I must admit that I have started reading it more. The inaugural reports are genuinely interesting stuff and I am intrigued as to how he is managing the 'living in hotels' stuff.

What I don't understand is why he is putting out 8 posts a day, because stuff drops off his home page faster than most people can follow it!

sbm12

Manufactured spending is easy, right? People here talk about doing tons of it on a regular basis.

Saying that it "doesn't count" to do EY F on a paid ticket rather than miles is silly, especially given the commonly used and favored fares ex-CMB. At that point the cash was probably the smarter value.

oliver2002

AFAIR Bens initial plan to get the EY residence for cheap was to buy a cheapo ex-CAI F fare.

gpapadop

Or maybe he does that so his blog stays on top of the BA page? I mean, did we really need almost 10 posts about macadamia nuts?

Big_Foot

Of course we did! Come on George, it's so much more important than anything else. I'm surprised nobody caught this guy before as such an anti-green behavior... Flying for nothing, Dire Straits would rock it LOL

FlightNurse

HE is working don't you know, he is a blogger and Travel Consultant... Whatever that is!

kokonutz

Passive aggression is sad.

Randy Petersen

I'll stand up for Ben here, the same Ben who brought enthusiasm and representation for the membership of FlyerTalk when he was elected to the TalkBoard in the past. Since I've personally known Ben longer and more closely than anyone on this thread, I can say that Ben's never come across as smug nor spoiled nor pampered. He started his craft as a wild-eyed sophomore in college with a passion for the same general topics he writes about today and the (many) tens of thousands of his readers daily seem to enjoy traveling vicariously through his blog since many of us aren't able to in our daily jobs travel that way and it is more like readers become Walter Mitty-ish after reading his ventures and experiences similar in the way that other bloggers explore the far reaches of the world. What you may relate to as smug is likely related to the product rather than Ben because coach on Spirit Airlines dies not evoke the same pattern of content.

There will be of no value to attack me, I am simply pointing out to others that may read these comments that Ben is an extremely generous individual (whether on FlyerTalk or with other budding bloggers, he has always volunteered to help others) who was able through his own hard work and efforts turn his passion into a livelihood which delights those who do read him. On most days, Ben is the single most read individual in the frequent flyer space, more read than any single post/thread on FlyerTalk or other travel community. This is because he has content that is readable and enjoyable, not arguable.

lwildernorva

I obviously can't disagree with your experience with Ben. And as I've mentioned in other posts, I've found his writing interesting in the past. But a writer's readers generally can know him only through his writing, and his writing and his approach over the past year or so have emphasized an aspect of his personality that I feel justifies my characterization.

I understand your defense, but I find it difficult to believe that you founded this site with the intention of ever seeming to sneer at a passenger whose extensive travel needs are met by a major domestic carrier--no matter what valid criticisms might be offered about its frequent flyer program or its onboard product.