Alright guys, I'll probably get alot of heat for posting this, but I don't care.

My question is, if you guys found a fail proof way to earn miles VERY cheaply or even FREE, would you guys post it here and share the wealth? Come on, tell us the truth. We all know that any kind of loophopes discovered gets closed down rather quickly if it is abused by many. So please post your honest response here.

For example: Having lurked in the Amex card program forum for sometime now, I've noticed that members of FT who were in the process of trying to get the Centurion card were more helpful in answering questions and submitting personal experiences. But after getting admitted in the "club", they seem to want to preserve the mystique and shoot down any posts or questions regarding it. Am I correct in this observation?

I would share, that's what forums are for, sharing information! I'm guessing a lot of people will have different opinions on this though.

I would share information since I get so much value from this board. It's only fair to give back.

Regardless of how you feel about sharing the fact is, if you post it you will kill it.

There are many, many debates on this going way back. Anyone interesting in a lot of reading on the issue might want to try searching for some of those old threads. Some of the people who've come on to some pretty good tricks have not shared because sharing has often led to closure of loopholes (Pudding Guy didn't tell people what he was up to until after he got his miles, for example).

Many people seem to use some discretion when posting publicly, while doing their best to share at the same time. In general, a lot of the best tips are frequently shared at FT get-togethers and through emails with FTers.

I have to agree...
Most FTers share those hot informations only via email!
I'm not sure if it is right or wrong, but the fact is - you won't find such hints on FT until you found some FT-friends and personal contact to some FTers!

So help me with this -

We've got one guy who flames anyone who has the nerve to ask a question without searching through loads of archives.

Now we have a group of people determined to experience the FlyerTalk Platinum Elite experience. Our mission statement? We'll share the good stuff only with eachother!

It's funny. Since I've gotten the starwood AMEX card, I've earned about 220,000 points. I've also convinced at least ten people to get and use the card. Might I suffer because there will be even more people with points that might eventually make Starwood institute blackout periods. Who knows. But it's the spirit that counts.

So how does this sound. You guys can email all you want to eachother. Just post it the next day.

I guess I sound like a Democrat (which I'm not). But it just seems the the right way to act.

I think you'll find most everyone here is very willing to help you with things like which is the best card to get (yes *wood Amex) and how to use it wisely to maximize points. Starwood and Amex aren't going to stop issuing the card because everyone is recommending it to others on a BB. Most likely they're thrilled. Go back and read the first post. Because airline and hotel reps do read these boards, it's the stuff in the grey areas - things like what Pudding Guy did or the Mexican Hat Dance (a trick some found where flying from Canada to anywhere in the US through Mexico got them low fares and more miles) - that aren't likely to be posted because it will just mean they will come to a quick end (which they did).

Remember there is a community forum with lots of get-togethers posted. This should give you and others more incentive to join the fun and meet other FTers in the flesh.

................

My mission is to help people find the best deals. But the deals have to be there after I advertise them. Else, there is no point in doing so.

If an offer has consequences clearly not intended by the business making the offer, and those consequences are favorable to us but will cost the business money it clearly didn't plan to spend, I will assume that posting the offer here will kill the deal, in which case no one can benefit from it, while not posting it will at least allow me to benefit from it and may postpone its death. No brainer.

If accepting the deal is or probably is within what the business intended, but the business doesn't advertise it very much because they don't want too many people accepting it, I will post it here and/or on my website, Free Frequent Flyer Miles. I really dislike those businesses which won't automatically give the best deal to someone buying their product, and spend a lot of time telling you and my readers about those deals. The most blatent of these companies include all of the telephone companies (who would be quite happy to sell you a long distance deal without giving you the maximum miles or any miles at all), and some of the credit card companies (like American Express for its Starwood card, and Chase for its Continental card).

there arent only lurkers out there from the carriers and hotels (some are great to have around such as William by Starwoods 9Sheraton). But unfortunatly many a writer for different newspapers , mags look to these boards for their daily/weekly/monthly articles that they write to get their pay check. then theres those who find something on here that costs little or nothing, or that the gain out weighs the costs and posts it on a BB that has nothing to do with travel but instead getting things for free or little $$, that swells the ranks of the promo and gets the promo provider thinking about redoing it again.
Its a fine thin line that we have to walk. Generally I try when I find something to post it to help others. The only time I might not is if its in a grey area whereby i can lose- say if you fly carrier X between Y&Z it seems they credit you with alot more miles than you were suppose to get. Say 10,000 instead of 1,000. As much as Id like to let everyone know not only will that might make it impossible to redo it, it will probably mean losing the extra 9000 I got in the 1st place. (please its only an example, no need to get into a discussion if its moral or not). or if Hotel Y says they will book 12 rooms thoughout the yr on any day for $1. Well if I know Ill be staying there alot during the year by making it public I just lost the chance of getting it again for $1, if on the other hand they say no limit, then let everyone get in on it. Nor would I expect that someone would post anything that they can use but by posting it, it will cause them a loss. Nor would I think it was fair to ask them to.
There can be alot of debate about this, which way is correct. I try to share all that i can just as I hope everyone else would.

If you expect that posting will kill the deal, you can post the information in an obscure or mistitled thread so that only the hard core FTers will see it. Or you can offer to PM the info based on a vague description, such that a travel writer would not bother asking. Or you could just start a vaguely titled thread hinting that you know of a bonanza and wait for the PMs to stream in.

I appreciate and understand all of your well thought out explanations. Never meant to impugn anyone's intergrity. I do know there are two sides to every issue. I just don't want to see a tiered FlyerTalk.

I try to give all I can here, but I'll never be able to pay back all I've received. Trust me - I'm certainly not ungrateful!

Those were the days, my friend. :-)

Yes, marketing departments can be shockingly bad at estimating the actual cost of a promotion. And, sometimes, a loophole is an out-and-out mistake.

I won't bore you with casino war stories but I will just in sum state that what I learned about sharing information is this: You have to give to get but it's a fine line. Share too much, and the promotions shut down before you have maximized their value. Share too little, and you have no "cred" with anyone, and you do not learn of other opportunities.

Back in the day, I had my share of hard words cast in my direction for "killing" various promotions, especially some 2 to 1s that we shut down in one day. But, a, we made more money in less time by playing flat out, and

b) because we became known for finding good games, we also became part of a circle that shared information on good games, allowing us to find more opportunities that the general public never glommed onto.

I suspect it will be the same with miles. One just has to use one's best judgment about sharing offers...but if you never share, you cannot realistically expect to be shared with.

OK, enough pontificating out of me for one day.

^ Very well stated.
Oh, and thanks for the many miles...