Bottom line: It's Randy's site, paid for by Randy's money; therefore it's his call just how aggressive we can be in sharing information and trading benefits.

I'm sure Randy realizes that such sharing is a major reason for the popularity of flyertalk. So I suppose he could save some money (reduced bandwidth charges) by squelching the hottest information.

Managers of the programs might consider the value that flyertalk provides in promoting their brands. FTers are a small minority of customers, but we each have many acquaintances who rely on us for advice on which programs and brands are the best. In this way, the more useful flyertalk is, the more effectively we will promote our preferred programs to our friends.

If I were running a frequent travel program, I would launch a generous promotion by leaking it to flyertalk and not advertising it at all. Then I'd wait for the WSJ and USA Today to pick it up from here. This way everybody thinks he's getting an insiders-only deal, which, let's face it, is a major part of the attraction.

This way, you create buzz and milk it for free publicity. Some weeks later after the viral marketing ran its course I would release the promo information to email subscribers. Finally, I'd run an ad or two and put something in the newsletter.

If I can figure this out, why can't these companies?