Originally Posted by
tom911
Does the blog reader, though, know there's revenue involved for the blogger when clicking those credit card links or do they just think the bloggers are good guys sharing the best credit card links available? Do they know it's "marketing/advertising" and money is being paid out if they use the link? I'm not sure the reader is typically aware of that side of blogs.
Some blogs disclose their financial relationship not just in 'about' sections or in fine print at the bottom of their site, but literally in each post that contains affiliate links.
Should bloggers disclose they're making money off those credit card links up front? From my non-blogging side, I'd like to see a disclosure that "I will receive a commission if you use my link". Could the blogging community live with that?
Agreed.
Some that are good about this, making this disclosure every time:
Mommy Points
View from the Wing
One Mile at a Time
Million Mile Secrets
Some that I have not ever seen make these disclosures in their posts:
Frugal Travel Guy
The Points Guy
Dans Deals
There are others on both sides of this, and apologies if I put any of them in the wrong category although I do not think that I did.
It does seem this disclosure is key, if it's there then folks can make their reasonable judgments about what is being sold to them.
Can bloggers be influenced, with the revenue factor in play, to link the credit cards that are best for their bank account versus best for the consumer?
Here's the thing that's worth looking at, which bloggers promote better offers than the ones that are their affiliate links?
Clearly Million Mile Secrets and View from the Wing do.
Usually Frugal Travel Guy does not, although occasionally he has more recently (after much public shaming and ridicule). He has even warned people away from using "zombie links" that everyone here on Flyertalk has had great success with getting more points from than his links, and has explained in these forums that he does this because those other links don't cause him to get paid).
Usually MileValue does not, either, for quite awhile he was posting about the US Airways card offers and deleting comments about the fact that the offer he was promoting was less than the best one.
Dan's Deals does't promote better offers than his affilaite links, either, he tells people to use his links and then ask the banks to match to the better offer instead of just applying through a link that would give them that offer.
Disclosure does seem to matter and so does
integrity.