What is the most useful frequent flyer blog?
Mar 17, 2013, 1:34 pm
#1951
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: GRR, USA
Posts: 3,298
Well, when a journalist writes something he fact checks before its added to an article. See how Scott from the WSJ heard about the mint story on SMD1 and months later managed to pull all the strings together before breaking the news. A blogger could have had the liberty to publish it instantly without giving it much thought, since its (just) a web log of his thoughts.
Mar 17, 2013, 1:54 pm
#1952
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: DEN
Programs: United 1K|SPG Plat
Posts: 265
Mar 17, 2013, 2:27 pm
#1953
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 6,385
I agree it's hard to argue against a blogger taking stuff for free and then blogging about it. Though if you think that one is bad check out something like this: http://jdombstravels.com/paradise-fo...illas-maldives. I stumbled upon this researching some properties, and I subscribed out of curiosity. Every single post ends with "thanks to so-and-so for the free-whatever-whatever, our opinions are our own" with the forgotten bit of "and always singing the praises of whatever-whatever so that if you are the purveyor of another whatever-whatever you can be sure you can give it to us for free and we will write it up in glowing terms"
If people follow it like sheep, well more fool them.
In lucky's case I am sure it will be a good review because hey, it actually looks a pretty good product, and I am sure AA know that. Taking the money makes it a lot harder to be critical but I doubt he'd bury it if were an awful AA crew on an old lie-flat
If people follow it like sheep, well more fool them.
In lucky's case I am sure it will be a good review because hey, it actually looks a pretty good product, and I am sure AA know that. Taking the money makes it a lot harder to be critical but I doubt he'd bury it if were an awful AA crew on an old lie-flat
Just read this:
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyalt...age-miles-168/
For a beginner, it was really a good read. And as I thought about posting something here, I thought back and realized there were no cc links. I went back to verify and saw two ads along the side, but nothing embedded.
I am still trying to sort out which bloggers are worth following. I certainly recognize Ric's name but frankly as I try to get up to speed, I have been reading so many blogs with such similar names that they do blur a bit. However, this one stands out and I will now remember both Ric and Loyalty Traveler. I like his approach which mirrors mine. As he explains in his "About" page:
"I am not a luxury seeking global traveler staying 200+ nights in a hotel. That is not the lifestyle I want. My hotel lifestyle concern is usually something more mundane like how to get a good 4-star hotel in Los Angeles or San Francisco when rates are over $250 per night and I don’t want to spend more than $125."
and I like this:
"Disclosure Policy: Any link that provides referral income, any sponsored blog post or complimentary media trip will be disclosed. There are no affiliate marketing links on Loyalty Traveler at this time."
I expect FT old-timers know all this, but for the newbies following this thread, who are not into fancy aspirational travel and prefer few/no affiliate links, Ric and his Loyalty Traveler are worth some blog-reading time.
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyalt...age-miles-168/
For a beginner, it was really a good read. And as I thought about posting something here, I thought back and realized there were no cc links. I went back to verify and saw two ads along the side, but nothing embedded.
I am still trying to sort out which bloggers are worth following. I certainly recognize Ric's name but frankly as I try to get up to speed, I have been reading so many blogs with such similar names that they do blur a bit. However, this one stands out and I will now remember both Ric and Loyalty Traveler. I like his approach which mirrors mine. As he explains in his "About" page:
"I am not a luxury seeking global traveler staying 200+ nights in a hotel. That is not the lifestyle I want. My hotel lifestyle concern is usually something more mundane like how to get a good 4-star hotel in Los Angeles or San Francisco when rates are over $250 per night and I don’t want to spend more than $125."
and I like this:
"Disclosure Policy: Any link that provides referral income, any sponsored blog post or complimentary media trip will be disclosed. There are no affiliate marketing links on Loyalty Traveler at this time."
I expect FT old-timers know all this, but for the newbies following this thread, who are not into fancy aspirational travel and prefer few/no affiliate links, Ric and his Loyalty Traveler are worth some blog-reading time.
Mar 17, 2013, 3:15 pm
#1954
used to be 'Flyfarfar'
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: SE
Programs: DL, AA, SPG, MR, HGP, IHG
Posts: 660
Mar 17, 2013, 3:15 pm
#1955
Used to be 'Travelergcp'
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: New Orleans
Programs: AA Plat, Marriott Gold, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 2,826
Come on guys. with the exception of Conde Nast, print journalists take *tons* of free stuff in exchange for writing about it favorably. I don't think the bloggers are lowering their review standards just for free flights/hotels.
I can think of several good examples of bloggers having critical remarks about stays that were travel industry comps, and another blogger with non-rev privileges on a major US carrier who is *very* critical of them.
This is nothing compared to the abuses in the print journalism world.
I can think of several good examples of bloggers having critical remarks about stays that were travel industry comps, and another blogger with non-rev privileges on a major US carrier who is *very* critical of them.
This is nothing compared to the abuses in the print journalism world.
Mar 17, 2013, 4:32 pm
#1956
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 212
Here's another example of a helpful blog:
http://themilesprofessor.com/2013/03...f-peak-europe/
I am hoping to get to Israel in December which is peak time for travel to TLV and after reading the above, will start thinking about doing it via Europe, perhaps by using AA to Europe and then another carrier on a separate ticket to TLV.
http://themilesprofessor.com/2013/03...f-peak-europe/
I am hoping to get to Israel in December which is peak time for travel to TLV and after reading the above, will start thinking about doing it via Europe, perhaps by using AA to Europe and then another carrier on a separate ticket to TLV.
Mar 17, 2013, 6:32 pm
#1957
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Programs: AA EXP(.96MM), AMEX Platinum, United Premier Silver, Delta Gold, SPG Platinum 50, Hilton Gold VIP
Posts: 1,744
As a relative newcomer, I have found this thread very useful as I figure out just who I can trust!
Along those lines, I travel to Israel often and when it was announced on F2B that there would be extensive trip reports about Jamison's and Angelina's trip there in the blog entitled Points Summary, I was eager to read them. When I go, it is usually for a few weeks at least, and most of the time I rent an apartment or small flat in Jerusalem. But on overnight visits to other cities, I occasionally book hotel rooms, typically in small, independent places that are sometimes disappointing. With my newly growing balance of hotel points, this series promised to be a window into some properties I could now consider.
Moreover, as a relative newbie, I find myself reading many blogs about places I have never been. It is hard to evaluate them, given my limited knowledge of the locales. Reading some blogs about places I am very familiar with would enable me to better evaluate the advice being offered.
I have been very disappointed with the series which was titled "Everything You Need to Know About Israel"
http://first2board.com/pointssummary...-about-israel/
To say the least, this is a huge exaggeration!
The first post tells us virtually nothing about the destination - it is basically a rehash of ElAl's infamous fare mistake and how the tickets were booked. The suggestion in subsequent posts that visitors rent a car strikes me as very debatable advice. I've probably been there at least a dozen times, and only once did I find that renting a car was indeed the best strategy. The bus system is cheap, quick and covers the entire country. Bus travel really gives the tourist a taste of the "real" Israel and it is very easy to use the buses (and trains) even without speaking Hebrew. But it was today's post about Jamison's visit to Masada that finally moved me to post about this series.
We are told at the start that "Masada...is Israel’s top paid tourist attraction." But Jamison does not say why! We are informed that there is free parking, but not a word about why one might choose to visit. The photos are nice, but nothing that different from what is available elsewhere on the web. The casual reader is left with the impression that one visits Masada to enjoy the sweeping desert and Dead Sea views from the top. It struck me as ironic that while many of us find the constant CC links annoying - and to be fair, there were none here - if Jamison did not want to write a few sentences about Masada, a link to Wikipedia would have been a nice help to the reader. Here's the first paragraph from Wikipedia, in case you are not familiar with Masada:
"Masada (Hebrew מצדה, pronounced ... Metzada ... is an ancient fortification in the Southern District of Israel, on top of an isolated rock plateau (akin to a mesa) on the eastern edge of the Judaean Desert, overlooking the Dead Sea. Herod the Great built palaces for himself on the mountain and fortified Masada between 37 and 31 BCE. The Siege of Masada by troops of the Roman Empire towards the end of the First Jewish–Roman War ended in the mass suicide of the 960 Jewish rebels and their families holed up there. Masada is located 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of Arad."
It is an extraordinary place, both for the history and the fact that palaces and fortifications were built in this extremely remote and difficult location. It is well worth a visit, and a great way to see it is after a sunrise walk up the path that snakes up to the top. Jamison's "...you can also buy a one-way cable car ride down if you want to hike up the mountain on the Snake Path (there are no snakes)" comment does not in any way do justice to the possibilities.
Finally, I read in Wikipedia that "Masada is Israel's most popular paid tourist attraction." Jamison's words are close enough to these to make me wonder if Wikipedia was indeed the source of this tidbit of info. I've read about and visited many, many of the sights of Israel, but I've never before seen the fact that a place was a leading "paid tourist attraction" used as a way to encourage others to see it!
This clearly was a quick trip offering little opportunity for Jamison and Angelina to see the country in any depth. I hope that other readers of Jamison's breezy advice do not mistake her for an expert. This was my first taste of Points Summary. I found little there to encourage me to go back.
Along those lines, I travel to Israel often and when it was announced on F2B that there would be extensive trip reports about Jamison's and Angelina's trip there in the blog entitled Points Summary, I was eager to read them. When I go, it is usually for a few weeks at least, and most of the time I rent an apartment or small flat in Jerusalem. But on overnight visits to other cities, I occasionally book hotel rooms, typically in small, independent places that are sometimes disappointing. With my newly growing balance of hotel points, this series promised to be a window into some properties I could now consider.
Moreover, as a relative newbie, I find myself reading many blogs about places I have never been. It is hard to evaluate them, given my limited knowledge of the locales. Reading some blogs about places I am very familiar with would enable me to better evaluate the advice being offered.
I have been very disappointed with the series which was titled "Everything You Need to Know About Israel"
http://first2board.com/pointssummary...-about-israel/
To say the least, this is a huge exaggeration!
The first post tells us virtually nothing about the destination - it is basically a rehash of ElAl's infamous fare mistake and how the tickets were booked. The suggestion in subsequent posts that visitors rent a car strikes me as very debatable advice. I've probably been there at least a dozen times, and only once did I find that renting a car was indeed the best strategy. The bus system is cheap, quick and covers the entire country. Bus travel really gives the tourist a taste of the "real" Israel and it is very easy to use the buses (and trains) even without speaking Hebrew. But it was today's post about Jamison's visit to Masada that finally moved me to post about this series.
We are told at the start that "Masada...is Israel’s top paid tourist attraction." But Jamison does not say why! We are informed that there is free parking, but not a word about why one might choose to visit. The photos are nice, but nothing that different from what is available elsewhere on the web. The casual reader is left with the impression that one visits Masada to enjoy the sweeping desert and Dead Sea views from the top. It struck me as ironic that while many of us find the constant CC links annoying - and to be fair, there were none here - if Jamison did not want to write a few sentences about Masada, a link to Wikipedia would have been a nice help to the reader. Here's the first paragraph from Wikipedia, in case you are not familiar with Masada:
"Masada (Hebrew מצדה, pronounced ... Metzada ... is an ancient fortification in the Southern District of Israel, on top of an isolated rock plateau (akin to a mesa) on the eastern edge of the Judaean Desert, overlooking the Dead Sea. Herod the Great built palaces for himself on the mountain and fortified Masada between 37 and 31 BCE. The Siege of Masada by troops of the Roman Empire towards the end of the First Jewish–Roman War ended in the mass suicide of the 960 Jewish rebels and their families holed up there. Masada is located 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of Arad."
It is an extraordinary place, both for the history and the fact that palaces and fortifications were built in this extremely remote and difficult location. It is well worth a visit, and a great way to see it is after a sunrise walk up the path that snakes up to the top. Jamison's "...you can also buy a one-way cable car ride down if you want to hike up the mountain on the Snake Path (there are no snakes)" comment does not in any way do justice to the possibilities.
Finally, I read in Wikipedia that "Masada is Israel's most popular paid tourist attraction." Jamison's words are close enough to these to make me wonder if Wikipedia was indeed the source of this tidbit of info. I've read about and visited many, many of the sights of Israel, but I've never before seen the fact that a place was a leading "paid tourist attraction" used as a way to encourage others to see it!
This clearly was a quick trip offering little opportunity for Jamison and Angelina to see the country in any depth. I hope that other readers of Jamison's breezy advice do not mistake her for an expert. This was my first taste of Points Summary. I found little there to encourage me to go back.
Mar 17, 2013, 6:46 pm
#1958
Original Member, Ambassador: External Miles and Points Resources
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Digital Nomad Wandering the Earth - Currently in LIMA, PERU
Posts: 58,600
I dunno if they do need to earn a living off of points and miles...I suspect most can't and won't.
Randy was an innovator. And he'll likely be an outlier in terms of having been able to make a living at it. Some of these blogger folks will make a little dough in the short term. Thanks to Randy's benevolence, Gary, Tommy and Ed may see financial benefit from Milepoint at some point. But note that all three of those guys still have 'day jobs' even as they blog, seminar and MegaDo their hearts out.
At the end of the day there may be a few nuggets of gold to be panned from the points and miles river, but miles and points is a passion and a hobby, not a job, no matter how hard one hucksters..
Randy was an innovator. And he'll likely be an outlier in terms of having been able to make a living at it. Some of these blogger folks will make a little dough in the short term. Thanks to Randy's benevolence, Gary, Tommy and Ed may see financial benefit from Milepoint at some point. But note that all three of those guys still have 'day jobs' even as they blog, seminar and MegaDo their hearts out.
At the end of the day there may be a few nuggets of gold to be panned from the points and miles river, but miles and points is a passion and a hobby, not a job, no matter how hard one hucksters..
So...TWO people who will likely make a long-term living from points and miles.
And please don't get me wrong, I do think it is neat that folks like Lucky, etc, are trying to make an entrepreneurial go at turning the points and miles game into a paying job, despite the hucksterism that it brings to the community. Entrepreneurialism is engine of the world economy.
I just don't think it's a sustainable business model. Points and miles info is free for anyone willing to look for it rather than having it fed to them. And given the low (no) barriers to entry by the competition among those who would like to charge (in one way or another) for the info, the marketplace is flooded and will continue to see even more competition. Competition that can simply re-post all the same (free) information that everyone else posts creating zero market differentiation. Ultimately affiliate minimum goals will become un-meetable. Same way the get-rich drop shipping scheme got over-saturated. But even faster since barrier to entry is even lower.
But in the meantime I congratulate Lucky on scoring free schwag like a business class ticket to London from his venture/efforts. That's pretty cherry. And all the bloggers who are going to make a few grand between now and when they and their unlimited competition drown the golden goose.
Mar 17, 2013, 7:34 pm
#1959
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Programs: Airline Free Agent, Fairmont Lifetime Platinum, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Honors Diamond
Posts: 3,041
Mar 17, 2013, 7:40 pm
#1960
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: New York and Vienna
Programs: PA WorldPass Platinum, AA, DL, LH. GHA Black, SPG and HHonors Gold
Posts: 3,870
The barrier to entry to starting a blog is extraordinarily low. It can be done for free, there's no literacy test (perhaps there should be), and one doesn't even have to have in-depth knowledge of the subject matter... in fact all this discussion does is remind me of this cartoon:
Mar 17, 2013, 7:43 pm
#1961
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 5,439
In fact, that's probably more evidence to the contrary - nothing where tons of new people are joining at the prospect of free money is ever sustainable.
Mar 17, 2013, 8:04 pm
#1962
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: GGG, DFW, IAH
Posts: 284
I just don't think it's a sustainable business model. Points and miles info is free for anyone willing to look for it rather than having it fed to them. And given the low (no) barriers to entry by the competition among those who would like to charge (in one way or another) for the info, the marketplace is flooded and will continue to see even more competition.
The barriers are probably not as low as you may think as well - most successful blogs out here are not simply repackaging the information available elsewhere but bring significant 'value add' this way or the other.
The only scenario under which travel blogging will cease being a sustainable business model is if blogs' sponsors (mostly credit card companies I assume) cease or significantly downsize the comissions.
Mar 17, 2013, 8:09 pm
#1963
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Programs: Airline Free Agent, Fairmont Lifetime Platinum, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Honors Diamond
Posts: 3,041
This ain't the stock market even though it does resemble a herd
There IS a market for this and the wild popularity of the Seminars is proof. Several bloggers are in it full time and of course Randy and his team have been doing their thing for years. If you told me this several years ago I would say you are nuts. We can say it is no longer sustainable when they all go back to their previous jobs or (some of them) retire
Mar 17, 2013, 8:23 pm
#1964
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Programs: Airline Free Agent, Fairmont Lifetime Platinum, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Honors Diamond
Posts: 3,041
Mar 17, 2013, 8:34 pm
#1965
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: RDU
Programs: AA/Delta/Hilton
Posts: 172
Right now it looks like 2011 and 2012 were the peak years for bloggers. Chase has pulled back. Most CC offers are much poorer=fewer applications/less compenstation. Less revenue for the bloggers => fewer bloggers that can make a living from the activity. On the other hand, some will be able to create more revenue from associated businesses including award booking services.