I assumed there was some amazing kickback Gary was getting from his *multiple* posts about "Club1 Hotels", claiming it's some amazing website, when in reality the prices do not appear much better than any other OTA, and the notion that a "membership" is worth $675 is insane. The interface is wonky.
Well, thanks to MileNerd, we have the full story.
http://www.milenerd.com/2016/10/monday-thoughts/ Gary gets $4 each time someone signs up for this POS website.
This is another example of a woefully inadequate advertiser disclosure. Gary just has his standard language: "I receive compensation for many links on this blog. You don’t have to use these links, but I am grateful to you if you do. American Express, Citibank, Chase, and other banks are advertising partners of this site."
That leaves the reader to guess whether a particular post/link involves a conflict of interest, and by listing banks, many readers would not realize some poorly designed website is giving Gary $4 for each "free signup."