What is the most useful frequent flyer blog?
Oct 3, 2011, 7:07 am
#151
formerly known as Frugal Travel Guy
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Greenville, SC
Programs: UA Gold, HH Gold, SPG Gold, Marriott Silver, Hyatt Platinum
Posts: 1,925
All of these useless blogs just copy information off of Flyertalk. If you spend enough time on FT, you'd know none of these blogs actually tell you anything new. It's just a bunch of gimmicks of getting faux hits so that airlines/hotels/credit card companies would pay them incentives to advertise.
If anything, they undermine our community by posting valuable information that should only be discussed on FT. Instead, they alert airlines/hotels/credit card companies and report them on their blogs in order to generate hits. Companies then crack down on what's being discussed and no one is willing to share anything else on Flyertalk.
The only exception is View from the Wing, as gleff actually posts useful information that's not stolen from Flyertalk.
If anything, they undermine our community by posting valuable information that should only be discussed on FT. Instead, they alert airlines/hotels/credit card companies and report them on their blogs in order to generate hits. Companies then crack down on what's being discussed and no one is willing to share anything else on Flyertalk.
The only exception is View from the Wing, as gleff actually posts useful information that's not stolen from Flyertalk.
And just as a reminder, I posted my blog for three full years before credit card hits meant a thing.
Evangelist? Not in my mind
Oct 3, 2011, 8:04 am
#152
Join Date: Sep 2009
Programs: *G, SPG, OW Sapphire
Posts: 2,565
I tend to read:
viewfromthewing
onemilesatatime
frugaltravelguy
thepointsguy
every morning.
viewfromthewing
onemilesatatime
frugaltravelguy
thepointsguy
every morning.
Oct 3, 2011, 8:29 am
#153
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Australia
Programs: Too many
Posts: 1,096
I generally avoid most of the blogs as the info for this aussie is also completely irrelevant for my needs also and I can find what I need usually in various posts
Oct 3, 2011, 8:43 am
#154
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: On strike
Posts: 8,135
Dec 8, 2011, 6:39 am
#155
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: On strike
Posts: 8,135
A data point on how much you can (or cannot) trust certain bloggers:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...-expiring.html
In brief, Dan's Deals posts an "update" claiming that "The 50K [Citi] ThankYou Premier offer ends sometime on 12/06!" Of course, the 50K offer is still very much alive; all that appears to be dead is Dan's own referral link.
ctownflyer, I'd love to hear you try to justify this.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...-expiring.html
In brief, Dan's Deals posts an "update" claiming that "The 50K [Citi] ThankYou Premier offer ends sometime on 12/06!" Of course, the 50K offer is still very much alive; all that appears to be dead is Dan's own referral link.
ctownflyer, I'd love to hear you try to justify this.
Dec 8, 2011, 7:18 am
#156
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA | IAD | BWI | BOS | OSL
Programs: AMEX Plat, AA EXP, DL Diamond Medallion, US, B6, SPG Gold,Marriott Gold,Hilton Gold,Starbucks Gold
Posts: 1,388
One guy in my book that has credibility is Gary C - View from the Wing. I enjoy reading his nice long thorough post. Gary is just very meticulous with his travel reports and insight on many things. I just hope he doesn't continue his onslaught of credit card pumping like the other blogs, I hate that sh!t.
Dec 8, 2011, 2:45 pm
#157
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Cleveland
Programs: AF/KLM Plat For Life/UA Million Miler-PremEx For Life/SPG Gold
Posts: 5,054
As proper context and full disclosure, Rick from Frugal Travel Guy invited me as a speaker for the two Chicago Seminars. Gary from View From The Wing was one the FT Awards decision makers to invite me to administer the FT Education Fund 'Frequent Traveler University' and we attended a number of FT Mod-Dos together. I have followed Brian's expertise way back when when he was still known as 'pitbrian' on FT and recommended him as Chicago Seminars speaker after meeting him at the FT University seminar.
So, with my potential biases/conflicts of interest/etc. out of the way.......
I don't care one bit about referrals, affiliate links or comps- disclosed or otherwise, they have zero impact on my perception of the depth of knowledge, objectivity and credibility of Gary, Rick and Brian, my 3 go-to DAILY bloggers.
View From The Wing- Other than my well-known philosophical quibble with Gary that First Class awards aren't worth the incremental miles or the incremental hard/soft product vs. humble Business Class, I like Gary's approach mixing facts and editorial perspective.
Frugal Travel Guy- As Rick will attest, before I make a major credit card or credit score decision, I pick up the FTG bat phone (hey, we're friend not just peers!!!) and seek Rick's advice and counsel. Rick set the precedent for credit card analysis and has not been dethroned.
The Points Guy- Brian translates FFP-speak into plain English. His methodical step-by-step process organizational style and his balancing pithy with brevity writing style, makes for remarkably understandable reading and comprehension of otherwise arcane information.
Loyalty Traveler- Admittedly, I am a reluctant hotel guest program participant,as I prefer less expensive and hyper-local lodging. But, when I needed to ramp up quickly about Club Carlson with the recent Radisson 50K points promo, Ric Gerrardo's blog was one-stop shopping for me. Considering that comparing the value proposition of diverse hotel programs is far more challenging than airline programs, I trust his methodology implicitly. His site has proven an excellent resource in helping structure inter hotel program trades.
One Mile At A Time- I am sure Ben's reputation is well-deserved and his writing style is indeed entertaining as well as informative. His quantity of trip report content length and lots of accompanying photos are simply not my cup of tea, so I won't always wade through a trip report to find more tangible reports. Again, NOT a dis on Ben, just my short attention span at play!!!!
So, with my potential biases/conflicts of interest/etc. out of the way.......
I don't care one bit about referrals, affiliate links or comps- disclosed or otherwise, they have zero impact on my perception of the depth of knowledge, objectivity and credibility of Gary, Rick and Brian, my 3 go-to DAILY bloggers.
View From The Wing- Other than my well-known philosophical quibble with Gary that First Class awards aren't worth the incremental miles or the incremental hard/soft product vs. humble Business Class, I like Gary's approach mixing facts and editorial perspective.
Frugal Travel Guy- As Rick will attest, before I make a major credit card or credit score decision, I pick up the FTG bat phone (hey, we're friend not just peers!!!) and seek Rick's advice and counsel. Rick set the precedent for credit card analysis and has not been dethroned.
The Points Guy- Brian translates FFP-speak into plain English. His methodical step-by-step process organizational style and his balancing pithy with brevity writing style, makes for remarkably understandable reading and comprehension of otherwise arcane information.
Loyalty Traveler- Admittedly, I am a reluctant hotel guest program participant,as I prefer less expensive and hyper-local lodging. But, when I needed to ramp up quickly about Club Carlson with the recent Radisson 50K points promo, Ric Gerrardo's blog was one-stop shopping for me. Considering that comparing the value proposition of diverse hotel programs is far more challenging than airline programs, I trust his methodology implicitly. His site has proven an excellent resource in helping structure inter hotel program trades.
One Mile At A Time- I am sure Ben's reputation is well-deserved and his writing style is indeed entertaining as well as informative. His quantity of trip report content length and lots of accompanying photos are simply not my cup of tea, so I won't always wade through a trip report to find more tangible reports. Again, NOT a dis on Ben, just my short attention span at play!!!!
Last edited by beaubo; Dec 8, 2011 at 5:43 pm
Dec 8, 2011, 4:36 pm
#158
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: SGF
Programs: AA EXP, Hyatt Diamond
Posts: 32
Oh what a can of worms this question is!
Dec 8, 2011, 6:02 pm
#159
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Cleveland
Programs: AF/KLM Plat For Life/UA Million Miler-PremEx For Life/SPG Gold
Posts: 5,054
count me as someone who has grown tired of the frugaltravelguy blog. and i used to be a huge fan
it seems as if the vast majority of the posts are filler... how many did we get over the last month promoting the chase offering (that was a total dud)? or how about the multiple posts he did about $450 AMEX card that really isn't "frugal", no matter how he tried to spin it?
Toss in the useless rookie tips, andrew's photos, and unisipired trip reports, a nd i'll get MAYBE one relevant post a week. and usually that revolves around something he gets a referral for. And I find his self-titling as the "World's Expert on Flying Free" a bit pretenous
Though most offensive is blatent comment editing that goes on. Post something moderately negative - and it won't be approved. kudos to ben, brian, and gary (and darius) who welcome critiques.
For points blogs - thepointsguy and millionmilesecrets. for general travel stuff - ben and gary.
it seems as if the vast majority of the posts are filler... how many did we get over the last month promoting the chase offering (that was a total dud)? or how about the multiple posts he did about $450 AMEX card that really isn't "frugal", no matter how he tried to spin it?
Toss in the useless rookie tips, andrew's photos, and unisipired trip reports, a nd i'll get MAYBE one relevant post a week. and usually that revolves around something he gets a referral for. And I find his self-titling as the "World's Expert on Flying Free" a bit pretenous
Though most offensive is blatent comment editing that goes on. Post something moderately negative - and it won't be approved. kudos to ben, brian, and gary (and darius) who welcome critiques.
For points blogs - thepointsguy and millionmilesecrets. for general travel stuff - ben and gary.
I signed up for THREE Amex Plats for $450:
* 50,000 Amex miles for under 1 cent per mile is in and of itself a compelling value proposition. Since Amex points are transferable into third party mileage accounts, I got 3 x 50K = 150,000 Amex points transferred for a First Class ticket to India for $1350..........THAT'S 'frugal' in most savvy FTers value propositions
* $100 Global Entry for free. I have used that 7 times already saving at least 3.5 hours in immigration lines.
* $200 airline fee credit....nuff said
* free Priority Club membership; where most clubs want one time only entrance fees of $15-$25, this benefit is terrific and cost-effective.
'Frugal' does not always mean cheap, it can mean judicious use of money and Rick's advocacy of the Amex Plat card, is just that. You pay a lot, but you get a whole hell of a lot more than you paid.....that's not 'spin' on Rick's part, that's just solid, compelling analysis.
Dec 27, 2011, 4:12 pm
#160
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: SEA
Posts: 1,887
Add deltagoldflyer to the list of those who censor their blog comments. Sad because he's got a pretty good blog. I took issue with the recommendation to apply for the Chase Freedom at the current 20K bonus. Perhaps I could have been a little less direct, but I think they were valid points.
You’re right. A 20K sign up offer isn’t anything to get all worked up about… unless you see someone recommending it. I think this is a good example of how credit card referrals influence poor blogging advice.
If it were me, I’d be sure to point out the offer was 30K just a month ago and advise folks to wait for a better offer. Without such information your readers are not making informed choices. Would you personally sign up for this card at 20K? I doubt it. Also, there is no need to rush out and apply for this card just to get the 5% on amazon and gas purchases. If the 5% was uncapped it would make sense, but since it is capped it is better to wait *AT LEAST* a month for a better offer since you could still max out the bonus points by buying amazon gift cards in March. Overall, very questionable advice in this blog post, sorry.
The other I would highlight is:
1) The signup bonus isn’t necessarily $200 cash back. It’s 20K points. Nobody thinking clearly would redeem 20K points for $200 cash.
2) To be able to transfer points to airline partners you need to transfer them to a sapphire or ink bold account (unless something has changed). That said, you don’t necessarily need to have one of those cards since you can just transfer them to someone you trust who can then transfer them to an airline partner (until Chase closes that loophole).
If it were me, I’d be sure to point out the offer was 30K just a month ago and advise folks to wait for a better offer. Without such information your readers are not making informed choices. Would you personally sign up for this card at 20K? I doubt it. Also, there is no need to rush out and apply for this card just to get the 5% on amazon and gas purchases. If the 5% was uncapped it would make sense, but since it is capped it is better to wait *AT LEAST* a month for a better offer since you could still max out the bonus points by buying amazon gift cards in March. Overall, very questionable advice in this blog post, sorry.
The other I would highlight is:
1) The signup bonus isn’t necessarily $200 cash back. It’s 20K points. Nobody thinking clearly would redeem 20K points for $200 cash.
2) To be able to transfer points to airline partners you need to transfer them to a sapphire or ink bold account (unless something has changed). That said, you don’t necessarily need to have one of those cards since you can just transfer them to someone you trust who can then transfer them to an airline partner (until Chase closes that loophole).
Dec 27, 2011, 9:45 pm
#161
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Boston
Programs: Marriott Lifetime Platinum, AA 1MM Lifetime Gold, JetBlue Mosaic (sometimes)
Posts: 138
Add deltagoldflyer to the list of those who censor their blog comments. Sad because he's got a pretty good blog. I took issue with the recommendation to apply for the Chase Freedom at the current 20K bonus. Perhaps I could have been a little less direct, but I think they were valid points.
For example, @HikerT, you called me out in the past about an FT post of mine during the last days of the PRG/Platinum bumps where I was still optimistic. I thought you were being a Casandra, but I was wrong. A bit later I realized my error and copped to it. While I can't be certain that my relationship with Amex didn't cloud my judgement, I like to believe is was simply my own glass half full view of the world.
Oh, and @BlissWorld, I respectfully disagree with your premise. I wholeheartly admit that much of my learning (and probably that of my peers) come from FT or the original sources (such as a blast email from an airline) that FTers have access to. My goal is not to be novel; my goal is to provide an easier way for the reader to access the information than sifting through hours of FT banter. That is for us travel geeks, the general public has no interest. As to the concept that the airlines will read our blogs but not FT? That seems preposterous. As to the effect of wider dissemination, that is a more reasonable question, but I would argue why is an FT lurker more deserving than a blog reader?
Oh, and to answer the OP's question, my favorite blog is the Free Travel Genius
Dec 28, 2011, 1:49 pm
#162
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: SEA
Posts: 1,887
Thanks dbh1.
Last edited by HikerT; Dec 29, 2011 at 1:49 am
Dec 29, 2011, 10:17 pm
#163
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 23
New to the miles points games. Came across this thread... I see there is a lot of blogs out there. More that I was aware of, although many of them seem to have the same content. As a starter I haver benefited from reading Noobtraveler.com
Dec 31, 2011, 10:48 am
#164
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 49
Check out captcarryon.com . New blog geared toward the frequent traveler and traveling family . Goal is not to repost same old info or push specific credit cards. Just good info to support the miles game and travel lifestyle . Thanks . www.captcarryon.com
Dec 31, 2011, 2:54 pm
#165
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 147
Given the fact that you have multiple posts on this thread vigorously attacking Dan's Deals, it makes me wonder what your agenda is?
All I know is the Dan's Deal blog has consistently "broken deals", and allowed me to generate substantial increases in my frequent flyer accounts, as well as accrue savings in hotel bookings. That's my sole objective in reading any of the blogs mentioned in this thread.
If Dan (or any of the above mentioned bloggers) happen to make a few bucks for their efforts (or Shekels in Dan's case)....good for them as they deserve it for their excellent work..
All I know is the Dan's Deal blog has consistently "broken deals", and allowed me to generate substantial increases in my frequent flyer accounts, as well as accrue savings in hotel bookings. That's my sole objective in reading any of the blogs mentioned in this thread.
If Dan (or any of the above mentioned bloggers) happen to make a few bucks for their efforts (or Shekels in Dan's case)....good for them as they deserve it for their excellent work..