YoungSoloTraveler

http://www.racked.com/2015/4/1/83207...d-points-miles

So looks like lucky makes around $500,000+ a year from cc referrals alone. Yet he can't afford his to splurge on the Residence?!

Canarsie

It is difficult for me to not doubt the veracity of that article when the writer cannot even take the time and effort to spell the name of Randy Petersen correctly.

84fiero

I don't see where the quoted text or elsewhere in the article state that Lucky specifically makes $500K+ annually (from CC referrals or otherwise). It only cites Randy as saying that "...some bloggers pull in more than $500,000..." and also doesn't specifically state whether that is on CC referrals alone or across all lines of income related to the blogger (award bookings, ads, speaking engagements, etc).

I wouldn't be surprised if Lucky is among the top earners and no doubt his CC referral income is good. But the article doesn't provide any specifics as to his business.

Yeah that's not very good - little bit of proofreading goes a long way.

OTOH, many of the BA bloggers' grammar, spelling, and proofreading abilities aren't any better...

lwildernorva

Maybe got (or did get) the names Rubiano, Schlappig, Jablon, Daraius Dubash, Westreich, Aucello, Eleff, Oren Wachstock, Arianna Rebolini, and Finken correct but made an understandable mistake in misspelling Petersen by using Peterson instead? Really? That's the nit you're going to pick in an article that appears verifiable in many other respects? One open to public comment where Randy himself could correct the article if the quote regarding $500,000 was wrong?

I'm beginning to think eponymous_coward may have pegged this corner of FT correctly. . .

Canarsie

Yes.I will not attempt to stop you from judging me in any way you see fit — incorrect as you may be...

84fiero

I think you're barking up the wrong tree with regard to Canarsie's post and the complaints about tone and personal commentary. His posts here on this forum have always seemed polite, civil, and balanced to me.

While I personally don't dismiss the article's content out of hand just due to the spelling error, it generally doesn't look good for a writer to misspell the name of one of the primary people they interview/quote for the article. It can make the reader question what other details the author glossed over or botched. You're right though that it can easily be corrected by any of the quoted individuals if necessary.

That said it's actually a somewhat interesting read and quotes numerous bloggers that are well known here. It delves into some of the disputes over how much info is posted on blogs, for example. No real new info for those of us who have been around it for awhile.

I thought this quote was somewhat ironic considering the content of some (not all) BA bloggers:

[emphasis added]

Canarsie

I sincerely appreciate it, 84fiero — and I thank you; but I cannot help but laugh...

...you spelled my FlyerTalk name incorrectly.

How ironic is that?!?

lwildernorva

Probably not as ironic as missing the point that I made no personal comment but rather a comment that suggests that the tone of the post seems to reflect the tenor of this subforum which sometimes seems to veer towards protecting FT's own while attacking those not deemed to be part of the club (gee, Brian Kelly's point, proven in this thread and in the first comment posted in response to the article). Or that, as of yet, no reason to "doubt the veracity" of the article at issue has been articulated other than an understandable misspelling of a common name made by an author apparently not of this forum while at the same time, an obvious willingness to laugh about a similar mistake when made in a post in your favor.

Yes, the misspelling of one name in an article is a factor in examining how well the author did his work. But while many of us here would know the correct spelling of Randy's last name because of his contributions to the FF communities, there is no reason to believe his prominence here translates to the larger world. I contend that there are plenty of other factors to consider in evaluating the trustworthiness of an article, such as the verifiability of the facts the author has included. Any yet disputable?

I just think it odd that the misspelling of a name would automatically undermine the entirety of an article. Just as I would think it odd that one would make final conclusions concerning the reliability of the opinions of someone so willing to dismiss an entire article on that ground--that's simply one factor to consider amongst others in determining the "veracity" of a person or their writings.

That's irony. . .

YoungSoloTraveler

Randy runs Boarding Area. The top blogger is Lucky. This is common knowledge. With lucky getting "couple million visitors" per month, $500k seems real low end. $1350 a day, which equates to around 15-20 CC approvals each day, lets say 10,000 approvals annually to be conservative.

I highly doubt his conversion rate is that low, I'd wager he makes much more then what Randy lets on.

Well it makes sense how Lucky can drop $2000 for some AS miles and say its a "steal". I would imagine he is burning lots of cash buying miles / doing mileage runs.

84fiero

Ha! Well, I was about three sheets to the wind last night when I posted so I guess I'll use that as my excuse!

Also, there's a good reason I'm not a well known author or journalist.

Sorry for the misspell btw, which I have now corrected!

Oh I wouldn't be shocked if Lucky makes some serious scratch just from CC affiliate income - as I posted upthread his booking service income is pretty high already.

My point was just that your post implied that Randy Petersen provided information that OMAAT, specifically, makes $500K plus from CC affiliate income. But the quote is much more generic than that. Your extrapolation that therefore OMAAT earns that much from CC referrals isn't unreasonable but is not direct confirmation from RP.

Kagehitokiri

moved

HouFly

he drops a lot more than that, buying various miles thruout the year. go read his mileage earning strategy posts.

why? cause if he's gonna travel in F anyways, it's cheaper to buy the miles than the tix in many cases or as per his needs. and how? chalk it upto business expenses and save on taxes.

Astrophsx

Wouldn't that flight be considered a business expense?

As others may have pointed out he may be earning more than $500k. He also has his award booking service and I'm not sure.. but he may also have corporate sponsors like Starwood? Ben seems like a smart guy. This isn't 5 years ago when the market wasn't as saturated with travel bloggers. Maybe all of this is not sustainable long term.. kind of like a pro athlete who only makes a large sum of money for a small portion of their working career. Ben could always add a few bloggers under his name and sell his site like TPG or FTG.

sbm12

And if it were what does that mean? If paid cash then a deduction against profit for the year, so a ~30%-ish discount. That's still a lot of cash to drop for a flight.

And it is less clear that buying miles would be demonstrable as a legit business expense versus buying tickets, though I'll freely admit I have no idea how those purchases are accounted for amongst the various bloggers who do so frequently.

lwildernorva

Assuming for the moment Ben is bringing in the kind of money discussed in this thread, which would make some sense, I'd also assume that he's already lined up an accountant to help him. Since Ben writes trip reports about nearly every trip he does, which he then posts on one of the public faces of his business, his blog, I'm sure he's declaring the mileage purchases that fund those trips as business expenses. By the way, although Ben may take in a gross $500K, I think we all understand that funding the type of travel he does as well as his hotel lifestyle, despite being partially offset with points and miles, means that he nets a lot less--if you told me less than $200K after those expenses and his tax burden, I wouldn't at all be surprised.

From a similar situation with friends of mine who frequently write off their fairly extensive travel in the name of "research" for their restaurant group, a tactic done with the knowledge of the accountant who prepares their corporate taxes, I'd say he has an argument. But, if the IRS disagrees after an audit, your past tax burden gets recalculated if the argument is rejected.

That's how a lot of folks who have actually paid the taxes their tax forms showed they owed end up owing the IRS a bundle. I hope Ben isn't ever placed in that situation, but I've never been willing to put myself in a similar position.