ChrisFlyer66

I generally agree with OP that bloggers have ruined some deals. When I find a truly great deal, I prefer to spread it by word of mouth rather than just posting on FT, because the bloggers will soon share it if it is that great, which does often kill the deal. I don't really blame the bloggers, but their affect on the FT world is definitely mixed.

wise2u

I've ranted about this topic and variations of it for a while. I read FT for years and 4 or 5 other travel related sites that pointed out deals that I would have missed on FT because of the massive amount of info here you cant look in all directions at once. I can't say all blogs are bad. There are some with merit, but 90% of the new ones (started in the last year or 2) are bad for deals because they are greedy, untalented parrots.
FT will survive because of it's members and content, but it has suffered at the hands of bloggers and even worse from other megadeal sites that spoonfeed greedy people deals until they die FW and SD are the 2 biggest killer of deals out there. Full of shameless exploiters and stupid people who cant show any control.
FT showed a level of intelligence, self control, common sense, finesse and respect for the integrity of the deal. (with a few exceptions of the mega greedy and braggarts). You had to work a little to get the info which left the lazy, greedy and stupid masses frustrated, bored and confused...they went away and stayed out of our deals......until they found slickdeals where spoonfed exploits are shouted and the attitude of get as many as you can before the deal dies prevails. There are a whole group of people there and on fatwallet that only get CC signup bonuses to trade in miles and points for giftcards that they cash in on e-bay and plasticjungle...ruining their limited credit for a few hundred bucks of giftcards and most of those kind of deals were posted there from users who got them from FT. So if it's not the bloggers its the deal sites and we contribute to the deals demise by spreading the word to the masses. If we only told our friends and others in the FT community, instead of broadcasting it to people who otherwise wouldnt care deals would last much longer.
So do bloggers kill deals for self serving purposes?, YES.
Will they stop as long as they are getting recognition or compensation? NO.
Can we do anything to correct the situation? (put the genie back in the bottle) Yes but not completely.
Some bloggers actually get original deals from public research and will continue to post self serving garbage with a few gems of originality. Others couldnt survive without FT openly discussing deals.
The only chance we have is to go underground with exploits, only discuss the basic deal on widely publicized promotions, and give no clue of how to best use it. For most of us if we hear about a new deal we can research it and figure out it's best uses without being spoonfed by a blogger or even another FTer. Expecially if it's in a program we are interested in. Like minded users interested in the same kind of programs can talk about lesser known deals among themselves via PM. Deals that arent found on at least a dozen public sites should not be discussed openly. So let the info dry up around here and lets see how many bloggers are willing to work for thier pay. Most of them are as lazy as their readers and will give up rather than put in hours of research. Once the nuggets laying in plain sight are gone only the miners will get rich.
and the rest can go back to SD

suspire

As will I. I enjoy FT for the travel tips, advice, hotel reviews, and plethora of other information. Tricks and loopholes are useful, but only a part of the reason I'm here.

I also appreciate the bloggers and the information they share, whether it be reviews of hotels and airlines, or useful information about credit cards, or some special promotion they discovered. I have, and will continue to support their endeavors via credit card referrals such as Million Miles Secrets, Frequent Miler, and others.

Truth be told, I think the vast silent majority feels the same way. The radical, angry entitled are always the loudest and so there are a large swath of amusing and highly hypocritical posts in his thread. The majority probably does not feel that way, but in screaming matches, they tend to just sort of sit back, silently watch and eat popcorn. And there is a legion out there who ignores FT entirely and simply goes to the blogs and will support them via their referrals.

The world changes and continues to change. This outcry is just another "The Good Ole Days" moment when in truth, there was never a "good ole days"--there was just different advantages and disadvantages to different times.

But by all means, have your super sekrit forum clubs, or Master Blog With Self-Paying Credit Card Referrals, or sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads or whatever new comical plot you've got hatched. I am sure I won't be invited to any said forums, but hey, to quote the estimable Groucho Marx: "I don't care to belong to any club that will have me as a member".

tassojunior

They spew so much misinformation and confuse plebes into causing so much attention to deals that they often get shut down.

The bloggers appeal to an audience just a couple steps above this together with many knowledgeable people who want to read all comments everywhere.

Ultimately the bloggers are just "What was on FlyerTalk Yesterday" repeated 20 times. They don't earn their money.

OTOH FlyerTalk is where I see the most industry insiders posting and monitoring. Undoubtably their monitoring of FlyerTalk forums is responsible for most deals getting shut down, I doubt industry people monitor the blogs.

belfordrocks

The issue here isn't if company insiders are lurking FlyerTalk, but the issue of the blogs spewing their drivel content for the masses, who then start calling the airline, alerting everyone in sight or contacting CNN...

GUWonder

Most have to file US tax returns, but the standard to show this is a business rather than a hobby is quite well defined and the expenses on blog-covered travel exceeding the blog-revenue for too many years may give rise to tax questions.

I am talking more about other benefits the bloggers get -- benefits which are neither related to ad/referral revenue nor related to making travel deductible on taxes. Other kinds of material benefits (including better access to others and deals for themselves; including preferential service from airline/hotel/car/credit card/other companies).

suspire

This is probably the sanest post in the thread. Quick! Lynch this man!

But yes: In essence, I agree. The blogs are different and just the next evolution in the current trend. Then something new will come along.

philemer

Time to do some more homework, Hans. I know at least one that should NOT be on this list!

HansGolden

See upthread.

But thanks for the reminder to edit my original post for those that don't want to read the whole thread.

ETA: And if I'm incorrect on any of the others, please let me know. TPG and TFM are very clear that they do blogging/travel consulting full time. Others are not so straightforward, for obvious reasons displayed on this thread.

Jaimito Cartero

And I'll be glad to take your money on that bet.

I have checked out some of the blogs when they purport to have big info. Often to find out that it's nothing more than regurgitated FT content.

GUWonder

Doubt that doubt.

Industry people do monitor the blogs. They even feed some bloggers and/or attempt to buy them off directly or indirectly -- part of trying toget them to "go native".

LordByran

I've found myself hesitating to post findings and workarounds I've come across in my spare time for this exact reason. I've benefited from the invaluable advice from FTers for years as a lurker, and I don't think it should at all be seen as presumptuous that when I contribute something I intend it to be used first and foremost by the FTer community. To me, it's a way of giving back to those who've helped me. When that gratitude is subsequently repackaged for another audience on a blog I've never read, it certainly does feel unfair, but in the grander scheme of things I think most of us have learned to deal (after all I like most people read the blogs because you can't stay on top of everything 24/7).

And to those who criticize the <100 post people: some of us are just better listeners than talkers, but we still know what's on the up and up! I think a lot of people on this board are as conflicted as I am with wanting to pay it forward to our fellow FTer while also wanting the information to be as free as possible so we can listen in and take advantage of a good deal. It's a precarious middle ground, and I'm glad this thread is taking place.

QL_714

If you don’t want a deal exposed then “KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT ABOUT IT”. 99% of the bloggers are not going to take the time to try and figure something out by themselves.

Markie

Just to come in on the side of the Bloggers. Although my Blog does not cover things such as US credit cards (there is no point), I do cover the less popular UK based card where only tiny bonuses can be earned. Where there is a referral bonus I indicate this clearly, and have to say no one has ever signed up using them!

In terms of whether it is wrong that Bloggers make money from FT, then perhaps we should simply prohibit anyone making money from FT, except that won't be done as too many people are making money out of the community already to be able to reverse that trend. Truthfully, much of the FT information is duplicated on MP, or in other places.

In terms of the best deals, these have never come to FT. Instead they are shared in private invitation-only forums and have been for at least a decade.

Look at the blogs, how much of the information is not readily available in cyberspace, with or without FT?

Ban the bloggers if you wish, and really think it will solve this problem. But to do that you would have to migrate to a private forum, with the consequent loss of revenue for IB.

Canarsie

This is just a clarification: Internet Brands does not own BoardingArea.com and never did own it.

Internet Brands owns Frugal Travel Guy and The Gate.

In fact, The Gate was originally a BoardingArea.com weblog but moved to FlyerTalk last year primarily due to the change in ownership of FlyerTalk.