Is that speculation or do you have insight? It doesn't strike me as a puff piece, and is actually pretty snarky. While it doesn't go into the consumer fraud angle, I would have been surprised if the WSJ had....
I don't think it's a puff piece, since the credit card companies all already know/bribe him, and nothing in it would push the financially literate consumers who read the WSJ to consume his services.*

*His services are of course to the credit card companies but he deceives travelers into thinking he is providing them a service of course.