You left out The Lurking (Savvy) Leisure Traveler - one who loves to travel and wants to reap all the benefits of the "Business Traveler" by being creative, reading a lot, relying on the "Travel Insiders" and making acquaintances, without having to deal with the "Ticket Scalpers", and unlike the "Credit Hounds" likes to enjoy life and use their miles to the full potential.
Does this leave me in a league of my own?
Actually, I think 90% of FT'ers fit this bill
As far as the blogger issue; I think the majority of people get excited about the prospect of a good deal regardless if they have use for it or have the discipline to follow through. I wonder how many took advantage of certain deals 'just because' and then left the point/miles sitting there collecting dust.
There's certainly an argument to be made to try and be a bit more discrete about great deals to be shared solely amongst like-minded people, so that the deals last longer for those who can maximize the benefits rather than throwing it out to the general masses which undeniably kills those deals a lot quicker.
JP
Originally Posted by
spankytoes
I think that Flyertalk posters can be broken down into 6 categories:
The Travel Insider- Actually works in a niche of the travel industry as an agent, flight attendant, hotel concierge, etc. Has a working knowledge of the business, but perhaps to his/her disadvantage. Convinced that because they are in the trenches, they know everything there is to know about travel in the same manner that a paralegal at a major firm thinks that they can defend a client on trial for a crime. Always willing to correct others as the “expert” and defend their position, even if it is proven wrong.
The Credit Hound- Accumulates an obscene amount of miles and points by churning credit cards, maximizing benefits and closing them down before the new deal hits. These are always the first people to humblebrag about how high their mileage/points accounts are. To them, the thrill of having a high balance is more appealing than cashing the miles in to actually go somewhere. They are the equivalent of Cameron’s dad and the Ferrari in the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: They simply rub their accounts with a diaper but never drive it. They can also quote you the exact mileage on command.
The Business Traveler- These people are a vocal bunch. They annually travel thousands of miles due to their employment and feel that their 200+ times a year dealing with the TSA makes them an elite bunch. They cannot fathom how people could sit in coach and openly complain if they are unlucky enough not to be upgraded, even though their ticket cost their company 1/10 of the first class price. Why airline don’t have a separate entrance for them to enter the aircraft for their loyalty due to job requirements, we’ll never know. They’ll scoreboard you about staying at exotic locations in plush surroundings without having to ever spend a dime of their own money. We all nod along envious of their status, but grateful that we don’t have to travel to fabulous Omaha, NE weekly for a board meeting to rack it up.
The Lazy Traveler- This is the person that needs everything broken down for them into a fine powder and spoon-fed the information. Using the search function is too cumbersome. You can’t possibly expect them to read an entire thread before asking a question. They need answers, and they need them NOW! If you could just sign up for it and let them pay you back…that’d be great. Be careful with these guys. Once they see a deal and figure out how to send a PM, all bets are off.
The Ticket Scalper- These folks have an interest in travel, and do deals from time to time, but they are really here to drive business to their sites. Like a ticket scalper, they “purchase” all the information from other sources and “sell” it back to the public at an inflated rate. Those referral fees are their convenience charges.
The Lurking Newbie- They don’t fully understand what’s going on here, but it looks exciting. They are the first to post a $2.00 off a roundtrip flight from Walla Walla, WA to Parsippany, NJ only redeemable on the 3rd Tuesday in the year of the Scorpion to feel like they are contributing to the board. They mean well, but the Business Traveler will have none of it…because DYKWIA?!?