Travel Hacking Cartel
Jan 28, 2011, 6:34 am
#61
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: PSM
Posts: 69,232
Premium removes the ads and gets you the ability to host photos in the FT gallery. That's it AFAIK.
Jan 28, 2011, 7:25 am
#62
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Indianapolis
Programs: Hilton-Diamond Lifetime Platinum AA UA, WN-CP, SPG Gold.
Posts: 7,377
Thank you for being so honest, and credibility...
Ads are not alwys that great, and photo's are nice..
Anythign seen on other sites of interest makes for a great post..
Very few web sits are worth paying $500.00 a year for...
View from the cheap seats...
Ads are not alwys that great, and photo's are nice..
Anythign seen on other sites of interest makes for a great post..
Very few web sits are worth paying $500.00 a year for...
View from the cheap seats...
Jan 28, 2011, 1:25 pm
#63
formerly known as Frugal Travel Guy
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Greenville, SC
Programs: UA Gold, HH Gold, SPG Gold, Marriott Silver, Hyatt Platinum
Posts: 1,925
Double post Sorry
Jan 28, 2011, 1:27 pm
#64
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: ATL, BHM, DUB, County Wexford
Programs: DL DM, AA ExPlt, Diamond HH, HY, BW, & Titanium Elite Marriott
Posts: 4,863
I'm sort of disappointed by some of the negative comments from people who haven't actually taken the time to give it an objective look. I guess I should have thicker skin since forums tend to be this way though.
I'm signed up on the trial basis for 14 days to check it out. Chris has a couple of digital books out about travel hacking/miles gathering and the Travel Cartel is designed to be an ongoing and updated information source in the same vein. Observations that it's an aggregator of deals are correct. A lot of the information posted there is certainly available here as well..... after you wade through years of posts and then try to subsequently figure out what is current and what is not.... Or I could just read a paragraph and know instantly on the Travel Cartel. Is it for someone who has elite status every which way to Sunday? No. Is it incredibly useful and a massive time saver for someone like me who is just getting my feet wet? Yes.
It's worth mentioning also that Chris frequently credits sites like this one for having useful and up to date information. He's not trying to "trick" anyone. He's a blogger/writer and is simply offering a product which he is happy to refund your money for if you decide it wasn't worth it to you. In fact come to think of it, I found this site as a result of his product.
I'm signed up on the trial basis for 14 days to check it out. Chris has a couple of digital books out about travel hacking/miles gathering and the Travel Cartel is designed to be an ongoing and updated information source in the same vein. Observations that it's an aggregator of deals are correct. A lot of the information posted there is certainly available here as well..... after you wade through years of posts and then try to subsequently figure out what is current and what is not.... Or I could just read a paragraph and know instantly on the Travel Cartel. Is it for someone who has elite status every which way to Sunday? No. Is it incredibly useful and a massive time saver for someone like me who is just getting my feet wet? Yes.
It's worth mentioning also that Chris frequently credits sites like this one for having useful and up to date information. He's not trying to "trick" anyone. He's a blogger/writer and is simply offering a product which he is happy to refund your money for if you decide it wasn't worth it to you. In fact come to think of it, I found this site as a result of his product.
Jan 28, 2011, 1:29 pm
#65
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: ATL, BHM, DUB, County Wexford
Programs: DL DM, AA ExPlt, Diamond HH, HY, BW, & Titanium Elite Marriott
Posts: 4,863
First, since this is only my 2nd post on Flyertalk, let me say hello. Glad I found you.
My journey to acquire (then spend) miles began a few weeks ago and over the course of the past 3 weeks I've been reading most of the sites mentioned in this thread, Chris's AONC site and others (like credit card review sites). It was an immersive process and I just feel like I'm finally coming up to speed.
I joined the Cartel because I want to get as much knowledge (and miles!) as I can in:
to help meet my travel goals.
The information is well organized and presented in small digestible videos and articles. Do I recommend it for people who already have 500K miles, elite status, etc? No, you guys have already conquered this game - and I'm thankful you share your learnings here. Hopefully I'll be able to contribute my knowledge to the conversation at some point in the very near future.
As a person who consults for a living, I can appreciate that Chris created a business model that capitalizes on the knowledge he's acquired through all his traveling and miles accruals. The Cartel will just have to prove to be a value for me as I start gaining more knowledge.
My journey to acquire (then spend) miles began a few weeks ago and over the course of the past 3 weeks I've been reading most of the sites mentioned in this thread, Chris's AONC site and others (like credit card review sites). It was an immersive process and I just feel like I'm finally coming up to speed.
I joined the Cartel because I want to get as much knowledge (and miles!) as I can in:
- The most basic "layperson" terms
- With the least amount of effort
- In the shortest period of time
to help meet my travel goals.
The information is well organized and presented in small digestible videos and articles. Do I recommend it for people who already have 500K miles, elite status, etc? No, you guys have already conquered this game - and I'm thankful you share your learnings here. Hopefully I'll be able to contribute my knowledge to the conversation at some point in the very near future.
As a person who consults for a living, I can appreciate that Chris created a business model that capitalizes on the knowledge he's acquired through all his traveling and miles accruals. The Cartel will just have to prove to be a value for me as I start gaining more knowledge.
Jan 28, 2011, 1:29 pm
#66
formerly known as Frugal Travel Guy
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Greenville, SC
Programs: UA Gold, HH Gold, SPG Gold, Marriott Silver, Hyatt Platinum
Posts: 1,925
FTG Blog will look better shortly
It's too bad the frugal travel guy's blog doesn't look like their page 
8 ways to fly free from the travel hacking cartel... is this not misleading? No matter if you have the miles.. you still have to pay tax? One of the 8 should be get a job as a flight attendant.. haha
8 ways to fly free from the travel hacking cartel... is this not misleading? No matter if you have the miles.. you still have to pay tax? One of the 8 should be get a job as a flight attendant.. haha
I'll never be a design expert. My concern has been and always will be: content, content, content
Jan 28, 2011, 1:31 pm
#67
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: ATL, BHM, DUB, County Wexford
Programs: DL DM, AA ExPlt, Diamond HH, HY, BW, & Titanium Elite Marriott
Posts: 4,863
As someone pretty new to flyertalk it can be a bit intimidating and I can see where someone would want to pay for quick aggregated info...of course I would also think these would be the same people who would simply pay full price for a ticket. $468 a year could take you some where. Chris is a very good promoter and designer. I have read some of his books, but cant say I learned anything new (keep in mind I am REALLY new at this) and I think perhaps I found Lucky's blog via ANOC. Personally I think it works better with the spirit of getting stuff at low cost to get the info from the free blogs...just a personal opinion.
Jan 28, 2011, 1:34 pm
#68
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: ATL, BHM, DUB, County Wexford
Programs: DL DM, AA ExPlt, Diamond HH, HY, BW, & Titanium Elite Marriott
Posts: 4,863
Well hello there, are you over in Hawaii as we speak? I am quite happy with your site and enjoy chatting with you even more (IN PERSON). We need to meet again sometime soon. Is there a DO in the works?
Jan 28, 2011, 8:01 pm
#69
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820
Guys, the Cartel acts somewhat like a clipping service. Some folks like execs only have time for extracts from publications and no time to read the full story. Reader's Digest has its place.
The Cartel is value-added in its niche. Not everyone has the time, creativity, skill, education, or savy to do what some of us do. Alas, I'd be hesitant to join a Cartel that would lower its standards enough to allow me in as a member.
The Cartel is value-added in its niche. Not everyone has the time, creativity, skill, education, or savy to do what some of us do. Alas, I'd be hesitant to join a Cartel that would lower its standards enough to allow me in as a member.
Jan 28, 2011, 8:40 pm
#70
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: MCO
Posts: 867
). Keep up the good work!
Feb 10, 2011, 12:28 am
#71
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: BOS .. but soon SFO
Programs: UA PLAT, TK GLD, Hilton Diamond, IC PLAT, SPG GLD, Marriott GLD
Posts: 1,528
travelhacking.org promises 4 r/t a year for $15 a month
https://travelhacking.org/
I was sent this URL and read up on it, but not too in-depth. I def wouldn't use the product, but I am curious if anyone out there knows anything about this.
I was sent this URL and read up on it, but not too in-depth. I def wouldn't use the product, but I am curious if anyone out there knows anything about this.
Feb 10, 2011, 7:04 am
#72
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: PSM
Posts: 69,232
https://travelhacking.org/
I was sent this URL and read up on it, but not too in-depth. I def wouldn't use the product, but I am curious if anyone out there knows anything about this.
I was sent this URL and read up on it, but not too in-depth. I def wouldn't use the product, but I am curious if anyone out there knows anything about this.
Feb 11, 2011, 10:25 am
#73
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 80
First post: Noob Here... THC = Groddy
I signed up for the the travel hacking cartel about a week ago for the $39.00 per month. This is the most expensive of the three options and promises upgrades and attention to premium travel with posts.
Chris, there hasn't been one deal or focus article on this in the last week. I really think the levels of membership are a scam.
He went on to promise to keep the focus away from the standard CC and financial investment deals for miles. 50% of the deals that post are simply that. How many investment accounts or CC's can one person have? Sure rotate it annually, but grabbing 50 different CC's just isn't fiscally responsible in my book. The other 30% involve some mileage incentive to lure people to the site.
At the end of the day, there just isn't much of a product here.
If you do it, do it for 2 weeks and cancel. There really is no value here for the newby nor the vet.
At $480 per year, I'll save my money and invest it into two round trip tickets with some mileage running in the process. Potentially I'll have earned an additional ticket in the process. That's guaranteed 2 tix plus one potential. This site simply can't guarentee those results.
FYI Chris' guarentee isn't money back, it's for additional months of service.
Thoughts?
Chris, there hasn't been one deal or focus article on this in the last week. I really think the levels of membership are a scam.
He went on to promise to keep the focus away from the standard CC and financial investment deals for miles. 50% of the deals that post are simply that. How many investment accounts or CC's can one person have? Sure rotate it annually, but grabbing 50 different CC's just isn't fiscally responsible in my book. The other 30% involve some mileage incentive to lure people to the site.
At the end of the day, there just isn't much of a product here.
If you do it, do it for 2 weeks and cancel. There really is no value here for the newby nor the vet.
At $480 per year, I'll save my money and invest it into two round trip tickets with some mileage running in the process. Potentially I'll have earned an additional ticket in the process. That's guaranteed 2 tix plus one potential. This site simply can't guarentee those results.
FYI Chris' guarentee isn't money back, it's for additional months of service.
Thoughts?
Feb 11, 2011, 10:35 am
#74
Join Date: May 2010
Location: BNA
Programs: No preference
Posts: 1,176
I think Chris's million mile challenge introduced me to FFM. In searching more, I found FT and have rarely looked back at his site for info as it relates to FFM. Thanks FT for your info, Thanks Chris for other stuff.
Feb 11, 2011, 1:46 pm
#75
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 199
I signed up for the the travel hacking cartel about a week ago for the $39.00 per month. This is the most expensive of the three options and promises upgrades and attention to premium travel with posts.
Chris, there hasn't been one deal or focus article on this in the last week. I really think the levels of membership are a scam.
He went on to promise to keep the focus away from the standard CC and financial investment deals for miles. 50% of the deals that post are simply that. How many investment accounts or CC's can one person have? Sure rotate it annually, but grabbing 50 different CC's just isn't fiscally responsible in my book. The other 30% involve some mileage incentive to lure people to the site.
At the end of the day, there just isn't much of a product here.
If you do it, do it for 2 weeks and cancel. There really is no value here for the newby nor the vet.
At $480 per year, I'll save my money and invest it into two round trip tickets with some mileage running in the process. Potentially I'll have earned an additional ticket in the process. That's guaranteed 2 tix plus one potential. This site simply can't guarentee those results.
FYI Chris' guarentee isn't money back, it's for additional months of service.
Thoughts?
Chris, there hasn't been one deal or focus article on this in the last week. I really think the levels of membership are a scam.
He went on to promise to keep the focus away from the standard CC and financial investment deals for miles. 50% of the deals that post are simply that. How many investment accounts or CC's can one person have? Sure rotate it annually, but grabbing 50 different CC's just isn't fiscally responsible in my book. The other 30% involve some mileage incentive to lure people to the site.
At the end of the day, there just isn't much of a product here.
If you do it, do it for 2 weeks and cancel. There really is no value here for the newby nor the vet.
At $480 per year, I'll save my money and invest it into two round trip tickets with some mileage running in the process. Potentially I'll have earned an additional ticket in the process. That's guaranteed 2 tix plus one potential. This site simply can't guarentee those results.
FYI Chris' guarentee isn't money back, it's for additional months of service.
Thoughts?