Lessons learned (or, Making plans for 2012)

Old Nov 9, 2011, 11:51 am
  #31  
 
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I want to recommend that this thread or one like it stay open for next year. If we could have someone keep the first post updated for the next 10 months we'll have a quick "READ THIS TO START GS 2012" guide. Many people who did GS 2010 had foggy memories about how some of the hits work (like Officemax). And as a newcomer this year I had a hard time even comprehending what the grand slam was until I saw the official US Airways announcement.

Also I think it's great policy that we should encourage shipments from those outside the US for purchases to people who are actively maintaining the first post in a thread. That gives them a nice (if small) reward for their hard work and might lead to more comprehensive guides next year. This year some of them were great (other partners, hotel stays, hotel transfers) but some were not (car rentals would have been a flop if not for Beltway's second post).

I agree with the theory of starting early (especiallyfor retail partners). While we did have a few instances of things getting cheaper (Network Solutions had a coupon later on) there were also many cases of cheap options selling out (especially at the flower sites). And since many purchases take 1-2 months to post it's very good to do things ASAP so you know towards the end if you need to do any extra purchases/activity to make up for foul balls.

With 5 days left in the promo I have 34 of 35 hits posted, with one more hotel stay this weekend. Since I have only two hits left to post (and the other one was a hotel this past weekend) I am not going to do any safety hits and I'm confident I won't need any. And at the upper levels a "safety hit" can be very expensive if you've already done all the cheap hits ($50+ per hit for those last hits).

I think I did about 16 hits in the first 24 hours of GS 2011 and that worked out very well for me. That's maybe a bit extreme, but doing all that are possible in the first two weeks I think is a very good strategy. I haven't been following this forum for the past month or so since I have my hits posted already.

Basically the longer you wait to get your hits the more safety hits you might feel you need since without seeing any posted activity it's hard to gauge if there will be problems. I see posts recently of people doing 3-4 safety hits (above 36) which would be completely unnecessary if they had started earlier.
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Old Nov 9, 2011, 1:08 pm
  #32  
 
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Good job, beltway. Thanks for all your work on this promo.

I think two things that stick out to me are the situation with the financial institution and the people who blew the good thing craz had set up for us. The increased level of interest between GS10 and GS11 was pretty amazing. Once the bloggosphere got a hold of it, it brought in folks who really didn't have the frequent flier saavy to understand pretty well-settled rules on flyertalk about how to avoid these sorts of problems. If there is a GS12, I can imagine an even greater level of interest, as those who weren't quite ready for it this year gear up next year. I'd hate to see the threads on the promo treated like trick it or dollar coins, with codespeak and inside stories, but perhaps this is where we're headed on some of these.

My hunch is that GS12 is going to look considerably different from GS10 and GS11. With the bloggers pushing the crap out of it, I think it may prove a bit too expensive for US. The intention is to stimulate partner activity, but if everyone figures out how to get 100,000 miles with activity that only requires partners to have to buy 20,000 miles from US, it really isn't sustainable. Many of us guessed there would be increased minimums and limits this year, and we were fortunate that they were less significant than some of us expected. But, clearly, US is responding to partner feedback. They did away with the ability to get a hit on a cheap starwood dine. They increased hotel limits. Their creation of a hotel transfer minimum point hit at 850 was pretty clearly the result of communication with Hilton. And I would not be surprised if lifelock was a contributor to the new subscription rules. I think these sorts of rules are going to increase, not decrease, next year.

This year, some of the retail partners have clearly figured out that people have been able to get very low cost hits -- Biscoff, Vinesse, etc. I'm sure they will be giving feedback to US, and I think it's very unlikely we're going to see the $2.99 hit any more. I fear that teleflora's $30 minimum purchase rule implemented in the middle of the promo is the tip of the iceburg. This will be a much different promo next year. I think we're going to see higher minimums across the board, and maybe even on partners that would be a surprise -- like erewards and emiles.
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Old Nov 9, 2011, 1:19 pm
  #33  
 
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Originally Posted by beltway
I've updated post #1 to narrow the "start early" injunction to retail partners. I agree that hotel transfer rules are very stable & unlikely to change mid-GS, so there's not much reason to do them early.
I got lots of hotel transfer hits solely from Topguesting and E-Rewards transfers and I have already started accumulating for next year.

One more thing to add-refrain from using the toolbar in Sept until the GS12 has started or you will have to wait until the Oct sweep.

I normally travel in Sept because it's off-season and nice weather so I have started planning the trip to coincide with likely GS dates so hotels and cars I have to do anyways will count as hits.
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Old Nov 9, 2011, 1:43 pm
  #34  
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Originally Posted by drbobguy
I want to recommend that this thread or one like it stay open for next year. If we could have someone keep the first post updated for the next 10 months we'll have a quick "READ THIS TO START GS 2012" guide. Many people who did GS 2010 had foggy memories about how some of the hits work (like Officemax). And as a newcomer this year I had a hard time even comprehending what the grand slam was until I saw the official US Airways announcement.
Originally Posted by lkar
The increased level of interest between GS10 and GS11 was pretty amazing. Once the bloggosphere got a hold of it, it brought in folks who really didn't have the frequent flier saavy to understand pretty well-settled rules on flyertalk about how to avoid these sorts of problems. If there is a GS12, I can imagine an even greater level of interest, as those who weren't quite ready for it this year gear up next year. I'd hate to see the threads on the promo treated like trick it or dollar coins, with codespeak and inside stories, but perhaps this is where we're headed on some of these.
And here we have one of the fundamental tensions in collective pooling of info on FT. Early on this year, somebody said (either in a post or in a PM to me) that if someone ever sat down & wrote a readable, comprehensive how-to guide -- complete with links to help even the dimmest GSer -- then two things would happen:
1. The guide would go viral (to FatWallet & similar sites).
2. GS would spiral out of control really fast -- overloaded merchant web servers, depleted inventory -- and the merchants would react much, much faster than they did this year to contain damage/close loopholes.
There were times when I pondered doing a global guide, with a full-on "cheapest hits" list that didn't cover just the Other Partners, but also listed the toolbar, credit cards, etc. The concern stated above, and not laziness, is what stayed my hand. As it is, I caught flak from some people for putting as much out there as I did, even in passing. (Not to single him out, but here's ArizonaGuy expressing such a concern when we talked about car rentals 2 weeks before the start of GS.) I do think it's a delicate balance between being "trick it" obscure and putting so much info out there that the deals get killed off. Somebody besides me will have to judge how well we struck that balance this year.

Finally, I think there's a conversation worth having -- maybe among only the mods & SD1K -- over how to make the sub-forum work even better next year, but I think it doesn't belong in this thread.
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Old Nov 9, 2011, 2:15 pm
  #35  
 
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Originally Posted by beltway
Finally, I think there's a conversation worth having -- maybe among only the mods & SD1K -- over how to make the sub-forum work even better next year, but I think it doesn't belong in this thread.
Jeez, you want us to start ANOTHER thread around here? What's up with that? There are already 27 hundred different threads going on, and there still isn't one for every hit. I mean, why don't Alamo and Hertz each have there own thread? Why combine the car rental hits? And there should be a LaQuinta thread, a Hilton thread (what's up with cutting Hampton Inn out of the promo?) and maybe even a separate no-show hotel thread. And on top of that, I think everyone should have their own "I have 17 hits with six more to post" threads. And another thing, why not have a dedicated "When is the next sweep" thread that folks can post in without reading the previous posts that contain the answer. I mean really, all these freaking different threads, why don't we simplify simplify simplify and just have one thread for the entire GS? Wouldn't that be simpler? Yeah, that's the ticket, one long thread with 411,672 posts. Then we can spend all our time telling people to use the search function. I think that's a GREAT idea, one super long thread. We should do it that way next year.

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Old Nov 9, 2011, 2:23 pm
  #36  
 
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I thought the one long thread worked fine last year, and I was very much against a subforum this year.

In retrospect, the one thread couldn't have worked this year. The promo was too big. But what did happen instead was difficult too -- I found myself losing information by not knowing where something would be posted only to discover it later in the thread I didn't expect.
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Old Nov 9, 2011, 4:40 pm
  #37  
 
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I thought that this dedicated sub-forum was a BRILLIANT idea from its inception. Many thanks to beltway, vysean, rob_flies_ua, lowfareair, and silverhalide and the hundreds of individuals who posted successes, failures and insight throught the GrandSlam Forum......many invaluable contributions! Many thanks also to my European exchange students and my local, behind the scenes friends (who shall remain nameless).

I am sitting on 39 hits right now and waiting on two to post... a Hertz rental (should post tomorrow).... and a Hawthorne Suites stay. Suffice it to say, I think I will make the 40 hits.

This year I will have earned a total of 131,222 miles (110K +21,222) for a cost that was only $140 more than last year when I earned 130,948 (100K + 30,948). I am not dissatisfied with the amount that I spent overall because I was able to earn the 10K PQM's - which are definitely important to me! Part of the reason that I had fewer 'Bonus' miles is in part to the increase in cost of miles - I would have gotten more had I had even a whisper of an idea that the price would go up so drastically.

It did 'save' me to have a few things lined up in advance and next year, if there is GrandSlamIII, I will do even better... particularly with stacking some points in some of the smaller chains through eRewards (honestly, never thought of that). I also learned to 'listen' to the community and not worry (too much) while waiting for some vendors to post.

I think I would rather see a lot of this information archived away until prior to the start of the promotion next year. The more information that we, as a community, leave 'out there,' then I believe some of the best kept secrets of the game will no longer work.
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Old Nov 9, 2011, 6:56 pm
  #38  
 
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My thoughts for 2012

1. Have a Strategy:
Decide in advance of the promo (like August) what you want to achieve. How many accounts are you going for and what is the goal for each account? I went for 40 and worked my spouse's account for 36. Done. Daughter? I never choose a goal and now I am dithering at the end as for what I can/should/have time to do. Knowing in advance that you are going for a certain number saves you money and time because you wont jump on the bandwagon for something just because everyone is talking about it on FT. Prioritize what you need to do.

2. Follow US on Twitter and know where your closest little league Ball Field is located. Kids are always practicing here in the South. Take a picture with kids playing ball and the GS/US air logo NOW. That hit for me and my spouse saved me a lot of $ this year.

3. Be nice. Don't spout off and be a jerk to anyone you touch in this promo. Be nice to your hard working FT volunteers, (Like Beltway), to new GS folks, to the Hertz guy. People will help you if you are nice to them and treat them decently. Being unpleasant or greedy doesn't help anyone including you. The Hertz guy told me that one person made 25 reservations and then called him and asked him to do them over the phone. He was not pleased (and he did only 4 of them) and it threw a bad light on the rest of us. Duh. Like that is going to happen. Don't be a greedy Jerk.

4. Read the Rules. If you just pay attention to doing what they tell you to do you will be fine. Reading the rules and understanding them is really KEY to this promo. I had a foul ball with Fairfield by Marriott. Why? Because I forgot you had to spend $100 to get enough points to have 250 points show up. I spent $96 and didn't get hit. Still kicking myself.

5. Plan a day off. Create your own special GS holiday. Call in sick if you need to. But don't choose Day one. Think day three or so. Any kinks or the danger of early posting of hits should be past. Spend the day doing all the PIA flower orders, do all the stupid shopping mall, sky mall, insurance quotes, etc. Just make a day of it and wipe as much out of the way as possible.

6. Be thoughtful and try to make it count. We sent flowers to every woman in our office with a note of appreciation for their efforts. Used all three florists on several different family members accounts. We earned not only the miles but lots of good morale from that. We saw Ira Glass in Charlotte (So cool!) instead of throwing away a child's ticket for a bad musical. I bought something almost useful from SkyMall ( a microwaveable heating pad thing). I am now drinking the last bottle of the white wine variety selection from Wine Insiders (it wasn't bad at all!). Instead of just buying miles for stupid stuff try to use this as an opportunity to do/buy/drink something useful. Ok, there is still Track it back (which is never really gonna be useful), but try to spend your money in a way that isn't just buying miles. I loved the fact that people on FT organized to donate tickets to performances and other stuff that they didn't want. Nice cirle of life kind of thing.

7. If you are going to do Car rentals: Go with just one agency and work it from the start. I went to two different agencies (Avis and Hertz) and wound up with 7 hits. Arrggghh.

8.Consider planning out your schedule for October. This is the prime GS working month. If you are gone on a lot of business or pleasure trips you may get good Hotel and Car rental hits. On the other hand It makes it much harder to get GS shopping related hits done because you probably either don't have time to do the hits or you don't want to shop from you hotel room with your credit card number out on the shared internet space. Plan for your schedule. (See #5 and plan a day off if you have a lot going on in October.)

9. Allow for GS fatigue. You will get sick of this promo no matter how much it keeps you awake at night in August. Plan accordingly and remember that reading about the promo on FT doesn't actually earn you any hits so be judicious with your time.

10. Keep your mouth shut. Don't call participating vendors to "check" on your hit. Extra true if your miles earning is a loop hole hit. Don't grumble when you have to wait 20 minutes for the Hertz guy to do all three of your counter rentals. Don't flame people trying to do good here on FT because you don't like or understand what they posted. Don't bad mouth US Air for tightening up the rules after we find the loop holes. Be grateful that they do this promo at all and stop whining! Just be nice and try to enjoy this!!

Beltway: You truly helped me make the top tier! With out your efforts I would have earned far fewer miles. Thank you so much!
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Old Nov 9, 2011, 7:29 pm
  #39  
 
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Quick question.

I see many references to the bloggers blowing the lid of the SB hit.

How do we know it was them and not the info that was posted in the SB thread?
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Old Nov 9, 2011, 8:59 pm
  #40  
 
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It's hard to tell, really. Really, it's hard to keep any great deal secret in this era.
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Old Nov 9, 2011, 9:35 pm
  #41  
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Originally Posted by dwcatty
why don't we simplify simplify simplify and just have one thread for the entire GS? Wouldn't that be simpler? Yeah, that's the ticket, one long thread with 411,672 posts.
You're almost exactly 400,000 short. Time's a-wastin'....


Originally Posted by kellio33
Quick question.

I see many references to the bloggers blowing the lid of the SB hit.

How do we know it was them and not the info that was posted in the SB thread?
Given that
  • that hit worked just fine in past years, when it was well documented in the GS thread
  • that hit worked fine in 2011 -- even though it was well documented in the sub-forum (including by me in Other Partners) -- and only died after certain widely read bloggers decided to publicize it,
I'd say that the basis for the inference is quite strong.
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Old Nov 9, 2011, 9:51 pm
  #42  
 
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It's one thing to visit and contribute to the GS sub-forum and see that there's a valuable free hit.

It's another thing when it is spoon-fed to readers who may not understand the importance of the hit and may just think, "ooh, 2500 miles!" That said, the bloggers have a right to do what they do, which just shows how important it is to act on tips in the GS subforum soon.


Also, this was my first GS and it was/is quite exciting. That said, I didn't really know what to expect without reading from the people who've done it in previous years. My suggestion: be patient and heed their advice. If NS is going to post on 11/7, don't fret away that night and say it's a foul ball. It will post eventually. In fact, this year, it posted pretty late into the night.
Same thing with sweeps -- there has been a regular schedule with some pleasant surprise sweeps in between. US IT has actually worked pretty well with this. They said there would be a sweep around 11/9 and there was just one, pretty late in the day on the east coast, but still on 11/9. I've fretted away a few times this year, but next year, I'm just going to complete my hits, sit back, and watch the miles come in .
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Old Nov 10, 2011, 12:11 pm
  #43  
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I'll agree, this sub-forum has been great.

I'd even go a step farther and suggest that there be a separate thread for each of the "other partners". The combined discussion has been useful (and post #1 in that thread is the single most useful post of all), but when tracking issues with a specific partner, it's cumbersome to have to plow thru so many comments about other partners.
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Old Nov 10, 2011, 1:56 pm
  #44  
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Originally Posted by swag
I'd even go a step farther and suggest that there be a separate thread for each of the "other partners".
Instead of boring you all with a repetition of why I think this is an absolutely awful idea that completely ignores the practical realities, I'll just point to this earlier screed on the issue. Suffice it to say that if avoiding having to plow through irrelevant posts is your goal, having a separate thread for every partner is not going to produce the desired outcome.
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Old Nov 10, 2011, 4:26 pm
  #45  
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This was my second year with GS. I was set on hitting only 32 hits this year, but after a couple of the very cheap hits that went into place, I decided to go for the 36. I have obtained them but am still awaiting four hits to post (after my car rental this weekend).

I learned last year and it has been posted this year to go for the erewards. I was able to get an extra hit from them because I picked up 5000 choice points that I was able to transfer to US Airways.

I am also going to get on that topguest thing for next year as I only read about it today. Shows that even though the promo is almost over, you can never know enough about GS and future GS.

I also agree with beltway about other partner hits. This was a nice consolidated place where I was able to find decent priced hits.

Finally, I want to thank all of the veteran GS players especially the person who created that spreadsheet. Without all of your help, I would be a much poorer (in miles) DM member.
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