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Deal Killing Blogs: List deals which were pulled, and the blogs which published them.

Deal Killing Blogs: List deals which were pulled, and the blogs which published them.

Old Nov 17, 2012, 9:50 am
  #31  
 
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Originally Posted by Frugal Travel Guy
You all get to decide which side of the fence you fall on. I'm embarrassed by this group of flyertalkers. I don't see any positive contributions, charitable donations or sharing coming from this band of bullies.
I see zero positive contributions from you. And don't give me .... about charitable giving. I don't need to do it by telling you and I certainly don't need to wear my bleeding heart for veterans on my blog. I'll give and support whatever I want on my own time.

Originally Posted by SkiAdcock
Also, if you're going to go on a rant, you'll need to add FTers & lots of other non-FTers to your list, because if there's any group that can find a loophole & exploit it in a way not intended by a company, it's those who go after miles & points.
Well, we should probably add RANDY PETERSON given his dumb recent lawsuit.

Last edited by mia; Nov 18, 2012 at 4:15 am Reason: Combine consecutive replies
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Old Nov 17, 2012, 10:19 am
  #32  
 
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I made this point back in 2008. If you want some nastaligia, go google the Wyndham Best Rate Guarantee (BRG) threads. Those got killed by a blogger.

But, nobody wanted to listen. Nobody thought it was a big deal. Then it snowballed.

I still maintain that FT should have created a separate forum for blog discussion. Make a thread for each blog. Personally, I would much rather discuss blog material on FT where I know that we can speak candidly about the bloggers without fear of moderation. FT should have wanted to do this to preserve their market -- instead, their feeble attempt to play in the blogosphere was to buy FTG.

So while I mostly agree with you, I would say that the horse has left the barn.
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Old Nov 17, 2012, 10:43 am
  #33  
 
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If there's an opportunity for money to be made, someone will step in and do so, and others will follow. Every deal will be killed eventually (if it's a good enough deal). Bloggers earn money through page views, and the best way to do that is with timely content. This list of "deal killing" bloggers is eventually going to be simply the most active and up-to-date bloggers. But as much as one might say blogging is killing deals, one could also say that Flyertalk killed deals, just on a smaller scale because it was more difficult to access/find. As Flyertalk grew in popularity, so did its deal killing prowess.

One could possibly argue that deals found on Flyertalk should be considered intellectual property and that bloggers are taking traffic away from Flyertalk. In my opinion, the point is not to attack bloggers, but rather protect the information better. I'm on both sides of the argument. As someone who doesn't have a lot of time to investigate potentially good deals, I like that someone else does the work and I get to take advantage of it. Sure, I'd rather have it limited to Flyertalk, or even better limited to some forum to which I have access, but I don't blame bloggers for making money while they can. And in the end, for every deal that I might have taken advantage of that was killed by blogging, I've gained plenty of information for free because of blogs. The only time I have ever clicked through on an affiliate link is when a deal came that clearly originated from the blogger itself. I refuse to click on links when I come to Flyertalk and see the same information posted a day earlier.

I'm a member of the discussion boards over at The Motley Fool. I pay a subscription fee because the content is worth the fee. They also have premium subscriptions. Users with premium subscriptions know better than to repost information and analysis for free, and I'm sure those who violate it are punished somehow.
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Old Nov 17, 2012, 10:58 am
  #34  
 
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Dear gregorygrady
I have looked back through your previous posts and I fail to see where you have ever contributed a deal to either the hotel deals forum, mileage run forum or other forums. Am I missing them?
I feel after looking at your previous posts that you are really complaining that my posts and other peoples are being stolen and used. That is none of your business really as they are not your contributions and those whose contributions are being used do not seem to be complaining; in fact I am sort of flattered when my original work appears elsewhere.

Please feel free to stay and get what you can out of Flyertalk but if you really are discontented the information super highway runs both ways. IN and out
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Old Nov 17, 2012, 11:13 am
  #35  
 
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It's the end of the world as we know it.......
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Old Nov 17, 2012, 11:55 am
  #36  
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I have been hearing how FT is being "ruined" almost since I joined, first by waves of new members and resulting changes, the notoriety of fare mistakes and now bloggers and the only constant over the years is change and expecting there to be none is IMHO folly. FT will survive and adapt as it always has and I'd rather manage the moment and move forward than continually debating ruination.

That is merely MHO as a poster and it's okay if YMMV.
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Old Nov 17, 2012, 12:00 pm
  #37  
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Originally Posted by Frugal Travel Guy
There is a small fraction of FT's 430,000 members that seem to think they are above the community spirit of sharing, and/or they are just an unhappy lot hiding behind the anonymity of the Internet.

You all get to decide which side of the fence you fall on. I'm embarrassed by this group of flyertalkers.
There is also a small fraction of FTers who profit hundreds of thousands of dollars from the rest of the FTers by swiping info posted on FT and then pushing CC affiliate referral links and obvious. I don't know, such as going so far as to suggest people apply for 4 Ink CCs via his link ($800 into said bloggers pocket) and then launder $190k via those 4 new CCs to get 960k Chase UR pts per year (on the VERY page pumping those Ink Bold referral link):

http://www.frugaltravelguy.com/2012/...lus-cards.html

Recognize that guy? You obviously don't expect deals to stay active with advice like that for all the noobies that read your blog. No, you seem to just want the quick referral money from all the Ink CC applications, not caring if the deal lasts for FTers to enjoy. I am embarrassed by this small group of FT bloggers. That you give some of your proceeds to Wounded Warriers or whatever makes difference to me. So you are justifying killing deals to make money to give to charity? How about you don't push your newbie readers to apply for 4 CCs and aim for 960k UR pts per year, thus let the deal remain longer, and then we can decide if we want to give money to charity?

Originally Posted by UnitedFlyGuy
OP - Are you actually mad at the bloggers or are you mad that the consequence of them posting the deals case then to be pulled faster? Or do you just want money for referrals yourself?
I'm mad at the bloggers BECAUSE they don't have the discretion to keep some things for themselves that obviously are unsustainable if they blog about them.

I am mad that they are ruining good deals prematurely simply to line their pockets even more via their CC affiliate links.

Last edited by mia; Nov 18, 2012 at 4:14 am Reason: Combine consecutive replies
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Old Nov 17, 2012, 12:08 pm
  #38  
 
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Just shut down the interwebs. Problem solved.

I don't see any Iranian bloggers killing deals so maybe we could learn something from Mahmoud.
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Old Nov 17, 2012, 12:12 pm
  #39  
mia
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Some posts have been removed because they are inflamatory. The authors will be contacted, but not immediately because I am traveling. The thread will remain closed while these discussions take place.
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Old Nov 18, 2012, 4:07 am
  #40  
mia
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Moderator action

The thread title has been edited to focus on the OP's suggestion to build a list.

Please do not include personal characterizations in your posts. This includes speculations about another's member's character, judgment, motives or finances. In other words, you may write about "deals" and "blog CONTENT", but not about "bloggers" or their families. The connection between blog publicity and deals withdrawn is controversial. Respect the opinions of those who view this topic differently.

Posts which do not comply with the rules are likely to disappear without immediate explanation, but explanations will be provided as time permits.

Last edited by mia; Nov 18, 2012 at 4:26 am
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Old Nov 18, 2012, 4:57 am
  #41  
 
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Originally Posted by Frugal Travel Guy
You all get to decide which side of the fence you fall on. I'm embarrassed by this group of flyertalkers. I don't see any positive contributions, charitable donations or sharing coming from this band of bullies.
You are using a pretty broad stroke don't you think? Just because you don't see something does not mean that it is not happening.
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Old Nov 18, 2012, 5:32 am
  #42  
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To OP: nobody forces you to apply via bloggers' links. If you want to make money for yourself, consider FatWallet - at least for AMEX cards, you can earn cash back for applying cards. I did it recently for my Business AMEX Gold card and BlueCashPreferred and earned $100 and $37.50, respectively.

I respect bloggers since they share the deals (it is up for followers how they do proceed - as normal people or crazy people without stop sign) and also bloggers make a lot of donations from their affiliating links (at least, FTG does).
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Old Nov 18, 2012, 5:46 am
  #43  
 
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There are some points that I would like to address:
1) Most bloggers put their random offers (some low, some high offers) on their sites without stating whether or not the offer is good to apply. It seems they only care about their referral bonus. Most new readers got confused and felt bad about the offer they applied. So, readers should be aware of this kind of situation. Strongly suggest to do research on CC offers first before applying. Highly recommend to apply for available CC offers directly with banks and lenders. From web programming stand point, referral CC offers displayed from bloggers' sites have more complexity than the direct ones. Things can go wrong. So, I try to stay away their referral offers as most as possible.
2) Some bloggers did not even state where they got the deals, without creditting the original posters. I sometimes feel disgusted with this kind of behavior.
3) Bloggers are learning from community, they often write tips and tutorials on their blogs. I really appreciate this; however, they should try to give back what they learn to the community here instead of focusing posts on their blogs to attract readers and earn referral bonuses. Sometimes some others and I have stupid questions here, Mia and Flytalkers here are so useful in helping each other. From my so far experience, I have not seen this giving-back attitude from most bloggers.

This post is based from my point of view so far. I might be wrong. If I do, please correct me. My intention is not to create any fights here and thanks for reading my post.
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Old Nov 18, 2012, 6:33 am
  #44  
 
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Originally Posted by nature1370
There are some points that I would like to address:
1) Most bloggers put their random offers (some low, some high offers) on their sites without stating whether or not the offer is good to apply. It seems they only care about their referral bonus. Most new readers got confused and felt bad about the offer they applied. So, readers should be aware of this kind of situation. Strongly suggest to do research on CC offers first before applying. Highly recommend to apply for available CC offers directly with banks and lenders. From web programming stand point, referral CC offers displayed from bloggers' sites have more complexity than the direct ones. Things can go wrong. So, I try to stay away their referral offers as most as possible.
If someone get into a bad credit card deal via a positive recommendation from a blogger, the blogger is the one to blame. However, blaming a blogger due to placing credit card application ads/links on their blog is just not fair, especially no one is asked to apply for it. One has to learn not to click on everything you see on a web page (for example, how do you know the link is safe?). Also, can we blame Google for not placing the best deals (ads/links) on its search result page? Readers should be mature enough to do their own research to find their best deals. If they don't, perhaps this is the lesson to learn.
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Old Nov 18, 2012, 6:57 am
  #45  
 
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Originally Posted by summerdayshopping
However, blaming a blogger due to placing credit card application ads/links on their blog is just not fair, especially no one is asked to apply for it.
Some do ask, albeit in a nice way; such as: "Emily & I get a referral for links to the Chase Southwest credit cards in this post as of the post publication date. We're always very grateful to readers who apply using our link!"

He even goes as far as to note if there is a better deal. As much as some complain loudly about the writings on MMS, he does a good job of keeping up front about bonuses and such.
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