Kagehitokiri

TB is still status quo

i dont know where i stand on the spectrum, and i certainly dont matter, but the other end of the spectrum is (relatively / practically) empty forums for everything

HCA

+1 for Chase UR forum.

Kagehitokiri

agree with others re blogs (OP says "came looking for")

also interesting some very new / relatively new members

and at least one with almost no posts...

i could be wrong, arent forums usually wanted by people who discuss (in posts) the topic a lot?

CC forum doesnt mean there is discussion

Cholula

The TalkBoard has begun to discuss a Chase UR Forum so any further public commentary would be useful.

Thanks.

Mary2e

I'm against this. For now, Chase UR is the card du jour. That can very quickly change just like the Citi TY points card changes. What about the Capital One card with the "status" match?

All those had a huge amount of traffic into threads until they changed the program, and it all but stopped.

This will just be another forum that will need removing/cleaning up back into the Other CC programs forum.

lwildernorva

I agree with this; some of the original requests for a separate Chase UR forum smack a bit of fanboyism instead of a reflection of a legitimate need. Nevertheless, I think there could be some justification for creating separate subforums for Citi and Chase cards. After all, there isn't a separate forum for the Amex SPG or the Amex Plat, two individual cards that get a lot of focus in the travel world; there's simply an Amex forum.

Chase has certainly become a bigger player in the credit card miles/points arena even in the two years I've been here, and it would appear they're here to stay as a major player. Citi might be trending downward a bit while Chase is going in the other direction, but Citi offers enough miles/points cards and their TYP program, although not as currently popular as Amex MR or Chase UR, is a standalone program that places them on a somewhat equal footing with Amex and Chase.

Creating a separate Chase UR forum is too fragmented a solution, but creating separate Citi and Chase forums would allow logical grouping of discussion about their cards while only increasing the number of subforums under "Credit Card Programs/Partners" from three to five, a manageable amount. I'm assuming Diner's Club would remain and the "Credit Card Programs" subforum could be renamed "Other Credit Card Programs" so that information about Barclay, Bank of America, PenFed, and other small bank programs could be found there. A separate Chase card forum would also allow the creation of a sticky with FAQs and links about the UR program.

And, for further mind-numbing detail, two more points. First, an alphabetical order from top to bottom could be set up so the forums are ordered Amex, Chase, Citi, Diner's, and Other. Not an original idea, of course, as both the airline and hotel forums use that structure, but it certainly makes skimming for the right forum a lot easier. Second, put a link in the MilesBuzz description on the forums main page along the lines of "for general discussion of credit card programs, go here." It might help redirect some questions that currently get dropped into MilesBuzz, which appears to be developing into its own mess.

mia

This would be a fundamental change in the way Flyertalk organizes credit card discussions. Grouping cards by issuer, rather than by rewards program, may have some unforeseen consequences. I will use Chase as an example, but the same would be true of Citibank or any other issuer.

Chase is not only the issuer of Ultimate Rewards cards, they also issue the Amtrak, BA, UA, WN, Fairmont, Hyatt, Intercontinental, Marriott, and Ritz-Carlton affinity cards, but only for the USA market. Today, those cards are primarily discussed in the rail, airline, and hotel chain sections.

If TalkBoard were to create a "Chase" forum rather than a "Chase Ultimate Rewards" forum it would separate discussion of those cards from their programs, and I anticipate these issues:

• Duplicate discussions of program rewards and benefits.
• Chase is not the issuer of the BA, UA or Marriott cards in other countries. Where would the Canadian, European, Asian or Australian affinity cards be discussed?
• Rewards programs periodically change card issuers. Amtrak cards were once issued by Bank of America, but now Chase. US Airways changed from Bank of America to Barclays, except some customers were allowed to keep their BoA cards. Should a Ritz-Carlton customer need to know that Chase is the issuer of their co-branded card? It's not a secret, but the marketing emphasis is on the travel brand, not the bank.

To be sure there is no misunderstanding, I am not opposed to some reorganization of reward cards discussions, but I have not yet seen a compelling argument for an Ultimate Rewards forum, and I think organizing by issuer is not the best way to maintain the travel focus to our discussions.

lwildernorva

Good points, and obviously, one of the reasons it's somewhat difficult to make suggestions without a better understanding of the inner workings, not just of FT but the entire credit card business. Since I'm US based, it's easy to miss that many programs have multiple card issuers world wide--although I am quite aware of the Chase/Amex dichotomy on BA cards US/UK.

It also highlights the behind-the-scenes decisions that go into deciding whether a particular thread belongs in MilesBuzz, the credit card forum, or a particular airline, hotel, etc. forum.

From a strictly non-mod user viewpoint, however, I think you can see the complexity we sometimes face in trying to find information or, for those who bother to think about it, figure out where to start a thread. If I'm reading you correctly, it sounds as if alternative routes for solving those issues may be even more complex than the current system.

As I noted in the earlier post, I have no problems understanding that starting new forums for a particular card, especially one popular at the moment, is not a promising idea.

I'm glad I got interested in this thread, however, because it does give more insight on the problems the mods face.

mia

Indeed, if you were to search you would find that I made the substantially the same suggestion in 2007 . The idea is appealing, but I think it's not the best approach for FlyerTalk.

kokonutz

This is my opinion too.

As I said(ish) in the private TB forum:

My concern with creating individual CC forums is that the T&Cs change so much, and they splinter the cards then splinter the splinters. What might warrant a forum today could change by next week. Too much trouble to keep up with them all by creating then closing forums. Better to let threads run their course.

BTW, I switched from Chase UA to Venture One and never looked back. UA miles are becoming more and more worthless while the VO has no foreign transaction fees and I get what amounts to a 10% discount on travel. FAR more valuable than miles, even if that is heretical to say around here.

ma91pmh

mia I agree with your point that the air / hotel / rail affiliated cards are best discussed in their "home" forums, i do feel i want to point out that much if not most (defined as > 50%) of the discussion on the amex forum has nothing to do with membership rewards. A quick scan of the board at the time of writing shows various posts about FHR benefits (which Chase has a competing product), Platinum benefits (lots of threads about the $200 reimbursement, thread on global entry etc), is it worth having PRG vs PLAT vs CENTURION etc etc. While I don't think this makes or breaks the argument for a Chase MR forum, I do think it debunks the view that the Amex MR forum is actually just or even primarily, actually, about Amex Membership Rewards.

I do think there may be a place for non-affiliated issuer specific discussion. other credit cards is that forum right now and lots of useful discussion on differences between cards, retention offers, how to apply, how many cards you can hold, fringe benefits etc which I think each of the major issuers deserve the same level of forum attention that amex gets

mia

These discussions are on topic because those benefits are offered only with the cards which participate in Membership Rewards. Its the same as discussing airline or hotel elite status benefits in the AAdvantage, Skymiles, Mileage Plus or Dividend Miles forums.

ma91pmh

I see. Makes sense. But the fact that similar benefits are being offered for Chase MR cards, and the fact that there are several cards with differing levels of benefits, support the proposition of a separate forum

lin821

Did you mean Chase cards that offer Ultimate Rewards?

I thought MR, as in Membership Rewards, is only associated with Amex.

ma91pmh

yes