sbm12

Do you count bloggers announcing end dates for CC promos which turn out to be wrong and then deleting the posts once that is known??

freeloader

Wow.... Revisionist history?

Who did that?

HikerT

What about bloggers announcing a CC promo is dead when it isn't dead, just their affiliate links? For example, DP claims the 70K offer "ended at about 3AM ET this morning." FTG shows "[Expired] Get It While It’s Hot: Last Chance for 70,000 Points From Chase Ink Plus Ends 10/19". To their credit, WFTW, DWL and TPG have posted that the public 70K offer is still alive.

EDIT: Perhaps sbm12 was referring to this post:

http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea....rd-offer-year/

lwildernorva

Which has also now been deleted. MMS started this rumor by saying the deal was ending 10/10. It appears that 10/10 was the deadline for Chase to issue new referral links to nonbloggers. Several other blogs then picked up on this information, and without corroboration, simply repeated it as gospel. Then, when that end of the world did not come to pass, 10/19 was identified as the end date. And then, to ratchet up the excitement, several blogs mentioned that Chase was going to pull the offer "in the early afternoon."

Of course, today, the offer seems to have persisted. Despite not earning any affiliate commissions.

I really don't mind the CC pushing. I can ignore that. But if you're going to promote yourself as a miles and points expert, it would seem reasonable that you should actually be an expert with access to information the rest of us don't have, not just some buffoon repeating unsubstantiated rumors.

IMH

I think that's setting the bar a little too high. What's reasonable to expect, IMO, is proper fact checking (which was your other, completely valid, point) and a level of background knowledge (including carefully kept records) that allows the blogger to analyse and put into context. A good blog post tells me when an offer is best in class, for example, or when to expect a fare sale based on previous years. A poor one regurgitates press releases, marketing blurb and other blogs.

Still on wrong/misleading, VFTW let some more hurriedly written nonsense slip through into a post last week: "Even most Asia Pacific carriers have eliminated first class." Reduced, certainly, in many cases, but eliminated?!

lwildernorva

In regards to expert information, I think that bloggers with a relationship with Chase could certainly pass along accurate information about when Chase offers they're pushing might end. The bloggers didn't even do that, tossing out useless speculation instead of saying, "Chase hasn't yet given me information about when this offer might end." The rest of the expertise I expect can be gained through the kinds of fact checking and analysis you mentioned.

I don't expect bloggers to be right all of the time, and there can be legitimate differences of opinion, even amongst experts, about the best way to do anything, whether it be collecting points or performing brain surgery, but some bloggers do themselves no favors by consistently offering no added value in their posts.

kokonutz

There is a great deal of value in creating deadlines around credit card sign up bonuses. Even if they are made up or completely wrong.

I mean value to the blogger in conversion payments from suckers falling for their deadline panic-mongering, naturally. @:-)^

lwildernorva

One of the reasons I'm a true capitalist. That approach may work in the short run, but the marketplace eventually weeds out those who don't add any value for others.

ctownflyer

The 10/10 end date posts that made their way around some of the blogosphere were quite frankly, bizarre.

lwildernorva

And after a pathetically hip attempt to drive a stake through the heart of this offer, http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea....20/gone-realz/, reports this morning that the offer apparently is still available in Chase branches. Not an unheard of move by Chase to continue an offer in branches that is no longer available online. Obviously not useful for those in areas not served by Chase, which includes me, but part of the background knowledge IMH mentioned that a blogger ought to have.

For realz, Gary.

farbster

Do the credit card companies or affiliate companies (or whoever) communicate to the bloggers when their link will expire? Or when the offer will expire?

Do the links just not work anymore once they have expired? Does the blogger have to remove them or change the advertising?

Wondering how it all works

The Deal Mommy

Can't speak to the advance notice issue (possible the big boys get a heads up that I never got as a punter) but you get an email saying links have to go down NOW. They also don't work, but they still have to go down as well.

lwildernorva

Hey, it's good when websites want to charge you more than somebody else! It's for your own good! And honest, OTAs are so much more trustworthy than my favorite whipping boy, the TSA!

kokonutz

That's some seriously convoluted logic!

They happen to KNOW you want to pay more for the same product, so they are accommodating you, not ripping you off!

lwildernorva

He's been getting closer and closer to jumping the shark for me. This post is almost finishing the job. And his strange silence on what could be the biggest story of the week involving a program that he's had contacts with, the likely announcement of the date for the merger of the AA and US FF programs as well as the parameters of that program, is making me think maybe his contacts aren't what they once were.

Could be wrong, and maybe he's learned from recent mistakes where he speculated without any real information, but man, it's hard to believe he hasn't had a single post on this topic all week. But, at least we know that unlimited complimentary upgrades are bad for frequent flyers!