Originally Posted by
deant
In some cases, the search terminology is a word that is not to be expected, like "fly9". In this case, asking a question is very appropriate. However, some people ask "is the recommended wait time for Personal cards 60+ days from the date of last application(s) or 60+ days from the date of my first transaction on those previous cards?" Doing a search with very obvious words like "60 day application" or "application date" would bring up the answer. Or if they had even read the sticky it would answer the question. In those cases, telling the person to do a search and feeding them back words is, I believe, appropriate - especially when they have just joined the boards.
Kudos to
deant for staying calm, and for respecting readers by being brief. I fear I will not be as brief, but -- dear readers -- do not take it as a sign of disrespect.
(1) More than one link to the 30K offer exists.
(2) "fly9" is part of a short URL that redirects to the 30K offer page (the unwieldy URL that Marathon Man posted).
(3) The
"fly9" reference should be clear to anyone who has read the whole thread. I read the whole thread before I decided to become a churner. But when I was ready to take the plunge, I was faced with the same quandary:
Where in the heck is the link? After a lengthy search, I found it. And -- lo and behold -- "fly9" was the first part of the URL -- I could see it right there in the post!
Therefore, my hint -- "HINT: search for "fly9" -- is helpful to newbies and oldbies alike precisely because it is OBSCURE. Hinting at the obvious would be a waste of space and an insult to intelligent people.
(4) Did anyone who bemoaned my post actually try the search? I expected to read at least one post along the lines of, "Using noneemac's helpful hint, I searched for and found the link. It took me less than one minute!"
** **
TIP: There is no need to waste time using Google. If you go to the
FlyerTalk forum home page, and use the
FlyerTalk search engine (i.e., you search internally, only on FlyerTalk, which is unambiguous; the window says "Search Forums.").
Type in "fly9" and a mere TWELVE results come back. That, my fellow FTers, is a fruitful search! Twelve threads contain references to fly9!
But wait, it gets even easier! If you search for "fly9" using the
Advanced Search function (which is neither complex nor unwieldy) and under
Search Options you click the
Show Results as Posts radio button, the
third result displays the fly9 link -- somebody posted it this morning! (Obviously, the order of results may change, but you get the drift: it's EASY to locate the fly9 URL.)
** **
In general, most people are here on FT to be helpful, and many people have
already been quite helpful in particular by posting an active link to the 30K offer.
Finally, for newbies who responded to my post with "how's a newbie supposed to know ...," my "fly9" post was a response to PaulChili, who has been a member since 2006.
Hint #2: Still having problems finding the link? Book a flight on AA, read
American Way, and tear out the full-page ad for the 30K offer. It's been in the mag for several months.
Happy churning!
^
