pricesquire

Skift: The Blurring Ethical Lines Between Credit Card Companies and Travel Writers

http://skift.com/2014/12/01/the-blur...ravel-writers/

Take a stroll through any raft of content in the business travel blog community and one trend will routinely present itself: credit card advice.

Over the past several years, content built around travel credit cards has been steadily increasing, so dramatically, in fact, that sites have popped up solely to discuss and promote the industry.

On the surface, the uptick in credit card content appears to be directly a function of new instruments invented in the space. Airlines and hotels all now have their own branded credit cards, using their points as an incentive to drive extra spending. Banks like Chase and Capital One have gotten into the game by offering broad credit card programs with multiple travel partners, allowing customers to store up masses of points and disperse them to airline or hotel programs as needed. With so many travel providers, so many banks and so many cards, it was natural that a cottage industry to sort through the best and worst deals would form.

That growth has also also been bolstered — perhaps artificially — by aggressive advertising and sponsorships. Banner ads, long forgotten as a viable revenue source, are slowly being replaced by credit card referrals and affiliate links that can earn $100 or more from each successful applicant — an amount that drastically outpaces revenue from advertisements.

Banks feed writers with updated content and promotions, and writers are incentivized to write about each update meticulously because of the high potential payout dangling in front of them.

Read more at: http://skift.com/2014/12/01/the-blur...ravel-writers/

cruisr

Really interesting article. Thanks for drawing my attention to it. Especially interesting (for the doubters) is confirmation that TPG is owned by Bankrate.

Kagehitokiri

wonder if MMS has been acquired yet

TPG not mentioned in bankrate financial statements?

pricesquire

Yea, this was one of the bigger take-aways for me. Had NO idea. I'd stopped reading him over a year ago, but he was where I first learned about FT, points/miles churning, the hobby, etc. Kind of shocking he was already in Bankrates back pocket by then (I don't care if he has 100% editorial content. He's still in their back pocket.)

Also, Skift is definitely an industry paper, so to speak. Interesting this issue has moved beyond a niche market and is gaining attention with a larger readership.

Mountain Trader

Now that the OP has been sufficiently mugged to FT standards, perhaps the interesting underlying subject can get some attention.

Some bloggers have created an atmosphere of somewhat interesting material, wrapped into a credit card sales pitch. If you run the math, these are not folks in the basement making some extra cash from a hobby. They are highly compensated, skilled credit card salesmen and saleswomen, who tailor what they write so as to encourage credit card apps. They are as much your friend as the life insurance salesman who takes you out to play golf.

There is nothing I know that is illegal about that, but anyone with half a brain should realize what is going on here, and chose how they spend their time with that in mind. Watching a beer commercial is one thing; watching a half hour a day of beer commercials is another.

bl540611

I quickly dug through Bankrate's 10-K and in '12 and '13 and didin't see any mention of TPG. This is purely hypothetical, but I am guessing he probably sold a stake and not the entirety of his company.

FallenPlat

I will say, though, that TPG's monthly summary of mile/point values is actually pretty good. Otherwise, I have to admit, I usually find little to nothing useful since a lot of it seems somewhat random with really inconsistent quality control.

The sheer entertainment value of some other blogs nonetheless makes me a consistent reader, and View from the Wing's insights into AA are almost always worthwhile, at least for me. So I'm not going to stop reading -- picking and choosing carefully -- anytime soon.

glennaa11

Whatever you think of the bloggers, it's hard to deny that credit cards are the way to get award seats these days. I don't apply for every card they recommend, but frankly if they weren't telling me about them I wouldn't know about many of these products. It's easy enough to go directly to the site if you don't want to help enrich them.

Good for them for finding a way to make the system work for them. I only read a few blogs these days. We're all being marketed to every second of the day.

I was also a little surprised though that TPG sold out. Maybe I shouldn't be. But his content isn't as interesting as it used to be now that he's left it in the hands of employees and other contributors. I think the best blogs are the ones with the strongest personal voices.

pricesquire

He sold 100% - only thing he retained was editorial control - and obviously - some sort of a salary/compensation scheme.

I said it before and I'll say it again: TPG is where I got my start. A real eye opener. That said, once you learn the basics, you end up on FT. There's absolutely zero reason for me to visit TPG now.

Raffles

If you have your own blog, you should absolutely keep an eye on TPG because it is very much at the front of what can be done in terms of design and layout.

FTR 787

it's funny that noobs who found out about this world of P&Ms, FT etc AND on top of all that, run their own blog, have the audacity to rip on other blogs NOW who do it better than they ever could in every which way. simply hilarious!

and mt. trader, completely disagree with you. I'd hang out all day with any salesman if all we were doing was playing golf. on his dime... the way I see it, THEY are the ones wasting their time. I'm only reaping and enjoying the benefits. but that besides the point cause your analogy is so flawed.

Big_Foot

Maybe it will sound silly or plain stupid, but in my case
I feel completely raped of my blogging innocence since I learned
how those full times guys are doing it. When I started my blog
I had no idea. Now I'm sick of it.
Lying to the innocent victims is borderline criminal to me.
Bragging about it and organizing some sort of "conferences"
and universities is just pure prevarication.

To those who don't know - the whole model today is based purely
on "new victims". People who are discovering this hobby and google some
basic stuff - they land on those blogs and before learning any better
click on their links. I guess 2-4 card applications before they realize
what's going on and that are much better links and offers to be found.
No experience hacker will use their links or read their blogs. There is
nothing there which would be even remotely interesting. Only card links.
But the new blood is enough to keep going.

runfit

It sounds more than just silly or stupid to equate your experience with blogs as feeling raped. Bad taste, imho.

Raffles

Eh? In English, at least in the UK version, that is a very commonly used use of the word.

Dictionary definition:

The wanton destruction or spoiling of a place:
the rape of the countryside

SeriouslyLost

It's a clean and tidy layout, but it's also a very American layout (endless scroll!) and in terms of style it's at least ~5 years behind the curve. That said, yes, it's better than most of the competition but only in that "just expired is better than completely rancid" way.