A blogger holds the power to sell dreams via creditcards [split off from TPG thread]
#61
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
Sorry you guys I was using the FGT "tool" and was so happy I can achieve my goals of getting not just one cash back credit card I asked for but SEVEN travel rewards credit cards! And get this....the "Tool" told me to get them all in ONE day. Of course it is my own irresponsibility to trust these nice folks who are so called experts (Avios anyone?) to advise me responsibly.
Breathe, breathe...
In other news, is this BRT gluten free I hope, right?
Breathe, breathe...
In other news, is this BRT gluten free I hope, right?
Its kind of like recommending index funds to a prospective client when you have a fiduciary duty and in reality most blindfolded monkeys can do better than those recommendations.
But I digress. Sorry.
The tool is long gone from FTG and the Avios error was made several years ago. But you hang on to those errors as its all you got. If you aren't finding fault with others, how else will you ever feel so good about yourself? Its called Elitist and we have way too many oh so perfect people
Last edited by ingy; Apr 2, 2016 at 8:39 am
#62
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Programs: Airline Free Agent, Fairmont Lifetime Platinum, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Honors Diamond
Posts: 3,041
Yawn.
To everyone: The "Tool" has been morphed into the "Wallet". There is a FAQ that is so misleading that borders the _____ (use your imagination). Don't let that unclear/tiny disclosure way at the bottom hit you in the face that the credit card compensation may impact the recommendations LOL.
FTG and fiduciary in the same sentence------------>entertainment------->For FREE.
So sad this does not happen in my site anymore, I hear it's good for Alexa rankings or something.
To everyone: The "Tool" has been morphed into the "Wallet". There is a FAQ that is so misleading that borders the _____ (use your imagination). Don't let that unclear/tiny disclosure way at the bottom hit you in the face that the credit card compensation may impact the recommendations LOL.
FTG and fiduciary in the same sentence------------>entertainment------->For FREE.
So sad this does not happen in my site anymore, I hear it's good for Alexa rankings or something.
#63
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: DL PM; IHG PlatAmb; Hilton Dia; Marriott Plat; Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 7,308
Of course you'd want only one cash back card that pays you at best 2-3% when you could have had 7 travel rewards cards that would have put way more value in your pocket, combined the inquiries by doing them the same day at that time. But I'm sure you took the right action for you and did what your gut told you was right and used the principle of personal accountability. George you did great whining and whining and whining for the last four years plus, and missed out on those 7 sign up bonuses.
Its kind of like recommending index funds to a prospective client when you have a fiduciary duty and in reality most blindfolded monkeys can do better than those recommendations.
But I digress. Sorry.
The tool is long gone from FTG and the Avios error was made several years ago. But you hang on to those errors as its all you got. If you aren't finding fault with others, how else will you ever feel so good about yourself? Its called Elitist and we have way too many oh so perfect people
Its kind of like recommending index funds to a prospective client when you have a fiduciary duty and in reality most blindfolded monkeys can do better than those recommendations.
But I digress. Sorry.
The tool is long gone from FTG and the Avios error was made several years ago. But you hang on to those errors as its all you got. If you aren't finding fault with others, how else will you ever feel so good about yourself? Its called Elitist and we have way too many oh so perfect people
There's something ironic about someone who insists they know what is the best value for everyone else calling someone else elitist.
The card that is the most valuable to each person varies based on his or her situation. Not everyone is retired with tons of flexible leisure time. For some people, 400$ cash a year will be more valuable than a free Emirates first class ticket. Indeed, I think one of the most deceptive parts of credit card sales blogs is the suggestion that the contrary is true.
As for your suggestions that individuals are breaching their fiduciary duties for things entirely unrelated to this thread, I encourage you to calm your anger and take a step back.
#64
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: AMS+IAH
Programs: Lufthansa: Senator || IHG: Diamond Royal Ambassador Inner Circle || Plutonium Status
Posts: 3,485
I am on team George on this one.
Why?
- bloggers pimping credit cards to often masking as advice
( not just one mentionbut ACT NOW! DO IT! REMINDER! WE BOOKED THIS FLIGHT/HOTEL WITH! TOP CC FOR THIS MONTH! LAST CHANCE! REMINDER!~ blatant advertising instead of travel-related / travel advice )
- honesty and biased
( just say your income is dependent on referreals and this is how you attain these trips and keep this lifestyle, preferrential treatment is received due to being too profilic / having contacts with customer service management of reviewed products/services ~ inventory opening up, triple upgrades, endorsing products and services without analysis of effect for beginners, intermediate and experts with short / long term implications)
- The HOBBY (argh term) is mainstream
( groan need i say more; saturation has reached among the FT/BA readers so lets target/entice/impress/snare/bind/addict/condition newbies from the mainstream audience: Rolling Stone magazine, Daily Mail, CNN, Hello Australia, FTU, Conde Nast, Youtube, Kickstarter: a bigger audience has more draining on limited FFP resources so this forces companies to rethink their priorities and allowances)
What made me as a Dutch person think like this:
1)At a certain FTU in the Netherlands people were already orgasming about F travel, all attainable by purchasing Avianca or Alaska miles. People were lamenting our non-existing dutch CC signup bonuses, feeling envious of those who can. No sensibility about credit implications, thoughts of buying a volatile miles currency, being dependent on Avianca's FFP situated in a banana republic, being dependent on Alaska's FFP which received so much exposure on its loops.
2)We don't even have a mainstream CC cashback in the Netherlands, for most ordinary users the only major CC benefit among Dutch providers is no foreign fee transaction costs.
3) credit is not an asset but a liability, it can't pay fines or satisfy the bailiff
Why?
- bloggers pimping credit cards to often masking as advice
( not just one mentionbut ACT NOW! DO IT! REMINDER! WE BOOKED THIS FLIGHT/HOTEL WITH! TOP CC FOR THIS MONTH! LAST CHANCE! REMINDER!~ blatant advertising instead of travel-related / travel advice )
- honesty and biased
( just say your income is dependent on referreals and this is how you attain these trips and keep this lifestyle, preferrential treatment is received due to being too profilic / having contacts with customer service management of reviewed products/services ~ inventory opening up, triple upgrades, endorsing products and services without analysis of effect for beginners, intermediate and experts with short / long term implications)
- The HOBBY (argh term) is mainstream
( groan need i say more; saturation has reached among the FT/BA readers so lets target/entice/impress/snare/bind/addict/condition newbies from the mainstream audience: Rolling Stone magazine, Daily Mail, CNN, Hello Australia, FTU, Conde Nast, Youtube, Kickstarter: a bigger audience has more draining on limited FFP resources so this forces companies to rethink their priorities and allowances)
What made me as a Dutch person think like this:
1)At a certain FTU in the Netherlands people were already orgasming about F travel, all attainable by purchasing Avianca or Alaska miles. People were lamenting our non-existing dutch CC signup bonuses, feeling envious of those who can. No sensibility about credit implications, thoughts of buying a volatile miles currency, being dependent on Avianca's FFP situated in a banana republic, being dependent on Alaska's FFP which received so much exposure on its loops.
2)We don't even have a mainstream CC cashback in the Netherlands, for most ordinary users the only major CC benefit among Dutch providers is no foreign fee transaction costs.
3) credit is not an asset but a liability, it can't pay fines or satisfy the bailiff
Last edited by HadesNL; Apr 2, 2016 at 10:37 am
#65
Original Member, Ambassador: External Miles and Points Resources
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Digital Nomad Wandering the Earth - Currently in LIMA, PERU
Posts: 58,585
Blindfolded monkeys might do better. But would probably do worse. And the prudent investor rule requires fiduciaries to use reasonable care in asset management.
Similarly, a cash back card is a far more prudent and reasonable approach to credit than seven points or miles cards for a vast majority of Americans.
#66
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
The word "fiduciary" was used in a sentence to describe a financial advisor like your profess to be, NOT a blogger who has no such duty.
Last edited by ingy; Apr 2, 2016 at 12:49 pm
#67
Original Member, Ambassador: External Miles and Points Resources
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Digital Nomad Wandering the Earth - Currently in LIMA, PERU
Posts: 58,585
But used car salespeople have a terrible reputation for a very god reason. So do some P&M bloggers.
#68
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Programs: Airline Free Agent, Fairmont Lifetime Platinum, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Honors Diamond
Posts: 3,041
It's about personal responsibility. And you are one of the angries. And if you have nothing good to say it...you know. And you are an elitist because some people who never got on the United 4 Mile deal whined about suing the airline are definitely not.
And on....and on....
Snowstorm in Ann Arbor, there go the grilling plans! I am not angry
#69
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: DFW
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold, Admirals Club, Global Entry
Posts: 1,141
Normally I wouldn't bother to chime in on stuff like this but, really, on the index fund thing, Kokonutz is completely correct. Consistently beating them isn't impossible, but it's very hard; hedge funds as a group, for one current example, haven't done so for seven years running now. And those people all went to great schools and are really, really smart. Or so they'll tell you, anyway.
And as for me? For "normal" spending, I mostly use the Citi Double Cash card domestically and the Prestige internationally. (Did I just agree with Adam??)
There's also a dirty little secret here: for domestic flying, you could easily end up way ahead of the game if you did nothing but pay for flights with $100 bills, cash, and fly Spirit. Mid-con round trips at decent times for fares consistently under $200 . . . .
Yeah, I know. There's no dream to sell there. Luckily, I never had to make my living in sales.
Sorry, one more thing: I've always been on the "personal responsibility" side of this little debate. At least when we're talking about actual adults, obviously.
And as for me? For "normal" spending, I mostly use the Citi Double Cash card domestically and the Prestige internationally. (Did I just agree with Adam??)
There's also a dirty little secret here: for domestic flying, you could easily end up way ahead of the game if you did nothing but pay for flights with $100 bills, cash, and fly Spirit. Mid-con round trips at decent times for fares consistently under $200 . . . .
Yeah, I know. There's no dream to sell there. Luckily, I never had to make my living in sales.
Sorry, one more thing: I've always been on the "personal responsibility" side of this little debate. At least when we're talking about actual adults, obviously.
Last edited by FallenPlat; Apr 2, 2016 at 2:51 pm Reason: one more thing
#70
Suspended
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 8,460
#71
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: DL PM; IHG PlatAmb; Hilton Dia; Marriott Plat; Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 7,308
Obviously a lot of people make rational cost benefit decisions and fly Spirit. If no one wanted to fly Spirit, it wouldn't be around all these years. As this thread makes painfully clear, different people have different values.
#72
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: DFW
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold, Admirals Club, Global Entry
Posts: 1,141
Oh come now, TMM. Really?
Well, sure, here goes. Two points.
First, repeating "cash" and $100. According the on-line dictionary of rhetorical devices that comes up first on a simple Google search, "As a rhetorical device, [repetition] could be a word, a phrase or a full sentence or a poetical line repeated to emphasize its significance in the entire text. Repetition is not distinguished solely as a figure of speech but more as a rhetorical device." There's also rhythm and style, but that's a bit more involved than I want to get here.
And second, Spirit. For a three-hour flight to the East Coast from DFW, it really differs little from American -- assuming you're under six feet tall. Where it's very different is on the ground (no Pre Check!) and in the case of irregular operations (no interlining!). There's also no "first class," if I can misuse that term slightly in referring to what AA offers, and a somewhat limited schedule. It's most certainly, as already noted above, not for everyone. I absolutely would not fly them for business. Never, ever, ever.
Well, sure, here goes. Two points.
First, repeating "cash" and $100. According the on-line dictionary of rhetorical devices that comes up first on a simple Google search, "As a rhetorical device, [repetition] could be a word, a phrase or a full sentence or a poetical line repeated to emphasize its significance in the entire text. Repetition is not distinguished solely as a figure of speech but more as a rhetorical device." There's also rhythm and style, but that's a bit more involved than I want to get here.
And second, Spirit. For a three-hour flight to the East Coast from DFW, it really differs little from American -- assuming you're under six feet tall. Where it's very different is on the ground (no Pre Check!) and in the case of irregular operations (no interlining!). There's also no "first class," if I can misuse that term slightly in referring to what AA offers, and a somewhat limited schedule. It's most certainly, as already noted above, not for everyone. I absolutely would not fly them for business. Never, ever, ever.
#73
Join Date: May 2009
Location: South Park, CO
Programs: Tegridy Elite
Posts: 5,678
And second, Spirit. For a three-hour flight to the East Coast from DFW, it really differs little from American -- assuming you're under six feet tall. Where it's very different is on the ground (no Pre Check!) and in the case of irregular operations (no interlining!). There's also no "first class," if I can misuse that term slightly in referring to what AA offers, and a somewhat limited schedule. It's most certainly, as already noted above, not for everyone. I absolutely would not fly them for business. Never, ever, ever.
#74
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Programs: IAMAW Local 368/HAL 2 Star Mariner
Posts: 740
Spirit is the world's most profitable airline (Near 20% margins). I say that they have no shortage of customers, and, are in fact growing very rapidly.
To put it bluntly, a very large chunk of the population of this country would eat dirt than real food to save a few pennies. There is a huge obsession with saving and stockpiling the almighty dollar no matter what you have to do to achieve those goals.
-LPDAL
To put it bluntly, a very large chunk of the population of this country would eat dirt than real food to save a few pennies. There is a huge obsession with saving and stockpiling the almighty dollar no matter what you have to do to achieve those goals.
-LPDAL
#75
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2000
Programs: UA Million Miler (lite). NY Metro area.
Posts: 15,069
Please don't bring me into this conversation. I'm having way too much fun reading all the back and forth.
Over these many years on BRT (Brooklyn Reality Tour - thread in Community), there have been controversies. The first was a pizza discussion. The other was my changing neighborhood discussions. My wife thought this topic was out of line.
dh
Over these many years on BRT (Brooklyn Reality Tour - thread in Community), there have been controversies. The first was a pizza discussion. The other was my changing neighborhood discussions. My wife thought this topic was out of line.
dh