Are Bloggers Ruining Flyertalk??? - Take 2
Jun 29, 2012, 12:52 pm
#16
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 171
FWIW I offered to let my readers pose suggestions before I went and then posted this as I left Chase HQ: http://forums.dansdeals.com/index.ph...8433#msg248433
Nothing nefarious was going on, we gave them feedback on what benefits we'd like to see in the future and they appreciated the feedback. They consider bloggers to be the conduit between the bank and the target market and appreciate the analysis that bloggers give that they could never attain in a 30 second commercial spot.
Nothing nefarious was going on, we gave them feedback on what benefits we'd like to see in the future and they appreciated the feedback. They consider bloggers to be the conduit between the bank and the target market and appreciate the analysis that bloggers give that they could never attain in a 30 second commercial spot.
Jun 29, 2012, 12:55 pm
#17
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Denver
Posts: 509
Bingo! When we apply through "dead" links, the bloggers don't get a referral, which takes money out of their pocket, and makes their referral links much less valuable. Of course Rick brought it up to them, he wants his share. The more dead links out there, the less he makes. Pretty simple.
Anyone who thinks the mainstream bloggers are in this game for anyone but themselves is being foolish.
I personally find several of the mainstream blogs quite valuable, and read them daily, but I also understand their motivation...cash, points, and perks...for themselves. I find nothing wrong with that. If I was well spoken/written and motivated, I'd consider as a pretty exciting way to make a living.
Anyone who thinks the mainstream bloggers are in this game for anyone but themselves is being foolish.
I personally find several of the mainstream blogs quite valuable, and read them daily, but I also understand their motivation...cash, points, and perks...for themselves. I find nothing wrong with that. If I was well spoken/written and motivated, I'd consider as a pretty exciting way to make a living.
Jun 29, 2012, 1:09 pm
#18
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: CLE
Programs: UA GS+LT UC, AA EXP+LT PLT, Fairmont LT PLT, Marriott PLT, Hilton DIA, Hyatt Glob, Avis CHM
Posts: 4,671
I'm pretty much in the Citi doghouse since that bizarre episode, you'd have better luck posing the question to Rick to find out what really happened (reps saying transfers to BA/SQ were live/not knowing which way is up).
Jun 29, 2012, 1:24 pm
#20
Join Date: Jul 2011
Programs: BAEC, A*A, SW RR
Posts: 199
Citi: "We want to find ways that our relationship can be mutually beneficial. We want to maximize the revenue we get from credit cards and the money you get from affiliate links."
Bloggers: "We agree. One way to do that would be to get rid of some of the expired application pages. They have better offers for our readers, thereby costing you more money, but they don't give us any commissions."
Citi: "We'll get on it."
Bloggers: "We agree. One way to do that would be to get rid of some of the expired application pages. They have better offers for our readers, thereby costing you more money, but they don't give us any commissions."
Citi: "We'll get on it."
Jun 29, 2012, 1:25 pm
#21
In Memoriam
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Southern California
Programs: Hertz 5 star, Priceline Hotel bidder. AA PLT, 1MM.
Posts: 2,910
We signup for various cards. Some just for the signup bonuses, others we keep for the ongoing benefits.
Some keepers are the following:
Chase Priority Club
Chase Marriott
Chase Hyatt
Non keepers: United. Chase Sapphire Preferred have 1:1 transfer w/UA & with the travel 2X bonus, the reason is obvious.
The above cards are for the annual free hotel night. Since the above cards charges annual fees after the 1st year, the Marriott & Hyatt are slightly better than a wash. The Priority Club is a better keeper due to not limiting category like the Marriott & Hyatt. and top PLT status keeping the card.
The real keepers & where we spend the money ($!) are the Starwood AMEX & Sapphire Preferred. If the other cards were as good as those, we would put some permanent spend on those.
As for the question of bloggers, I believe the banks are getting info about what works & what doesn't. I believe they already know but I believe they wanted some confirmation of what they already know. I could be wrong, however.
Some keepers are the following:
Chase Priority Club
Chase Marriott
Chase Hyatt
Non keepers: United. Chase Sapphire Preferred have 1:1 transfer w/UA & with the travel 2X bonus, the reason is obvious.
The above cards are for the annual free hotel night. Since the above cards charges annual fees after the 1st year, the Marriott & Hyatt are slightly better than a wash. The Priority Club is a better keeper due to not limiting category like the Marriott & Hyatt. and top PLT status keeping the card.
The real keepers & where we spend the money ($!) are the Starwood AMEX & Sapphire Preferred. If the other cards were as good as those, we would put some permanent spend on those.
As for the question of bloggers, I believe the banks are getting info about what works & what doesn't. I believe they already know but I believe they wanted some confirmation of what they already know. I could be wrong, however.
Jun 29, 2012, 2:00 pm
#22
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2000
Programs: UA Million Miler (lite). NY Metro area.
Posts: 15,079
Blogger win.
We win.
Jun 29, 2012, 2:25 pm
#23
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820
The banks want us as long term customers? Really? Flyertalkers?
To quote Bugs Bunny:
"Eh, he don't know me very well, do he?"
I suspect old Cardinal Fang would roll up the carpet, lock the doors and hide the women and children if he knew this group of financial barbarians were at his gate.
To quote Bugs Bunny:
"Eh, he don't know me very well, do he?"
I suspect old Cardinal Fang would roll up the carpet, lock the doors and hide the women and children if he knew this group of financial barbarians were at his gate.
...The heart of the question is what do the credit card companies really want out of Rick and others? Is it more people to sign up and use their cards which generate more money to Rick? Yes, but only to a degree. They want a long term relationship with the customer, and the bloggers, particularly Rick and Miler, are experts on how to "milk" max value out of a card for minimum spending. What am I getting at? THAT isn't what the company is looking for. I am sure the companies struggle with paying the bloggers, even though they bring in lots of folks, I am sure many of them, like me, aren't very profitable.
So, the companies are bringing them in to pick their brain to figure out how to get that long term relationship. They want those merchant fees, and when I don't do many 1X transactions, it is killing them. If I was working for the bank, I can't think of better folks to ask for advice to achieve that goal and I hope they paid the bloggers for their time in providing it. I think the Sapphire Preferred is a good example of a bank "getting it" as I do plan on keeping that card and do more profitable charges for Chase on that card than many others. They were also clever keeping a big sign on to get me on board. If this is what comes out of meetings with bloggers, I am all for them.
I am pretty new, so I am sure it WAS more fun around here when less folks were doing this, but many of us never even knew about the world without Rick and others. I will always support private business owner trying to make a living and it what makes America great.
So, the companies are bringing them in to pick their brain to figure out how to get that long term relationship. They want those merchant fees, and when I don't do many 1X transactions, it is killing them. If I was working for the bank, I can't think of better folks to ask for advice to achieve that goal and I hope they paid the bloggers for their time in providing it. I think the Sapphire Preferred is a good example of a bank "getting it" as I do plan on keeping that card and do more profitable charges for Chase on that card than many others. They were also clever keeping a big sign on to get me on board. If this is what comes out of meetings with bloggers, I am all for them.
I am pretty new, so I am sure it WAS more fun around here when less folks were doing this, but many of us never even knew about the world without Rick and others. I will always support private business owner trying to make a living and it what makes America great.
Jun 29, 2012, 3:13 pm
#24
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
Hotels, airlines, car manufacturers, they all reach out to these groups.
As a journalist, I get invited to a lot of car launches but I'm fairly picky about which ones I ultimately attend to ensure they are relevant to readers of Frequent Business Traveler and The Diesel Driver magazines. We also get invited to a variety of other meetings, briefings, and fam trips.
On the social media side, this past week, Ford invited almost 400 bloggers and a handful of journalists to become more familiar with Ford's future plans covering vehicle technology, the environment, and social issues. Ford had Bill Ford and Alan Mulally present at various times both speaking and mingling.
Therefore, I'm not surprised that credit card companies do host bloggers. I also don't see anything terribly wrong in such outreach.
Jun 29, 2012, 3:30 pm
#25
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: BUF
Programs: SPG Plt, HHonors Gold, UA Gold, PC Plat, Marriott Gold
Posts: 880
The idea that bloggers' summit to discuss these issues WITH the credit card companies is somehow beneficial to the reader is questionable. that was my point. There is no benefit in any of this for the readers. Other the the CCs, the benefit is to the bloggers - to get a scoop of what to promote, to network and promote their affiliations, etc. any other spin is silly
Jun 29, 2012, 3:38 pm
#26
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 766
The idea that bloggers' summit to discuss these issues WITH the credit card companies is somehow beneficial to the reader is questionable. that was my point. There is no benefit in any of this for the readers. Other the the CCs, the benefit is to the bloggers - to get a scoop of what to promote, to network and promote their affiliations, etc. any other spin is silly
Jun 29, 2012, 3:39 pm
#27
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,633
I loved the blogs shortly after getting into FT. But recently I do think they have come to rehashing what's on here. I don't mind someone (cc companies) trying to make a profit, and someone else (bloggers) selling them a service to make a living for themselves. What bugs me is the bloggers repackaging FT and getting paid to do it. I don't see the value-add in that, except maybe for the very new (like I was a year ago) or very lazy.
Jun 29, 2012, 3:43 pm
#28
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 766
The banks want us as long term customers? Really? Flyertalkers?
To quote Bugs Bunny:
"Eh, he don't know me very well, do he?"
I suspect old Cardinal Fang would roll up the carpet, lock the doors and hide the women and children if he knew this group of financial barbarians were at his gate.
To quote Bugs Bunny:
"Eh, he don't know me very well, do he?"
I suspect old Cardinal Fang would roll up the carpet, lock the doors and hide the women and children if he knew this group of financial barbarians were at his gate.
Jun 29, 2012, 3:46 pm
#29
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
I get this, I think it makes perfect sense for the credit card companies. My point was that most of these bloggers blog about how great it is to "churn" cards... hit the bonus, and move on to the next ones (something that is obviously a money loser for the CC companies); some of the more reputable ones will find and report the zombie links, even when they don't get referral credit. All of this costs the CC companies money; one biggest gains (the 100k cards, the 50k + $50 one purchase United card) are their biggest losses.
The idea that bloggers' summit to discuss these issues WITH the credit card companies is somehow beneficial to the reader is questionable. that was my point. There is no benefit in any of this for the readers. Other the the CCs, the benefit is to the bloggers - to get a scoop of what to promote, to network and promote their affiliations, etc. any other spin is silly
The idea that bloggers' summit to discuss these issues WITH the credit card companies is somehow beneficial to the reader is questionable. that was my point. There is no benefit in any of this for the readers. Other the the CCs, the benefit is to the bloggers - to get a scoop of what to promote, to network and promote their affiliations, etc. any other spin is silly
A lot of the (less experienced) bloggers at the Ford event were clearly wide-eyed and blown away by Ford paying for (coach) air tickets, putting them up in a Hyatt Regency (which is in sad shape IMO and probably won't be a Hyatt much longer), and wining and dining them. I suspect Ford will have little trouble getting the Ford message out, exactly as intended.
As for me, I did get to learn a lot about Ford products and technology, drive on their proving grounds and track, and watch some idiot blogger forget to put his seatbelt on on the off-road course and get thrown across the back of the truck and bang his head pretty hard against the side window (he was wearing a helmut, there were about 50 signs all over the place saying to buckle up - and that's no exageration - plus the safety talk at the beginning of the day emphasized this as well). But I digress.
Jun 29, 2012, 3:48 pm
#30
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: BUF
Programs: SPG Plt, HHonors Gold, UA Gold, PC Plat, Marriott Gold
Posts: 880
As for me, I did get to learn a lot about Ford products and technology, drive on their proving grounds and track, and watch some idiot blogger forget to put his seatbelt on on the off-road course and get thrown across the back of the truck and bang his head pretty hard against the side window (he was wearing a helmut, there were about 50 signs all over the place saying to buckle up - and that's no exageration - plus the safety talk at the beginning of the day emphasized this as well). But I digress.