onlyairfare

I agree. No downside to joining. I might even have signed up with AA when they first began their FF program in 1981, probably signed up for Delta and United too when they began their programs. When points were of more value it may have been worthwhile to develop one's loyalty. When I lived near CLT and worked near PHX, it was US Air all the way

Nowadays unless of necessity (your airport or your company policies) one travels frequently on just one airline, there aren't as many who are dedicated FFs whose goal is to accumulate miles and points.

pinniped

Breaking news, multimillionaire (many times over) doesn't care about frequent flier miles.

And at this point, he *has* to fly economy - that's central to his brand. He can't say he hates it; that's the product he's selling to his entire fanbase. Not saying that's good or bad - it's smart, and trying to pivot into the crowded market of people pushing mileage program advice would risk ceding his strong position in the budget travel advice space.

Artpen100

I think you are on to something there. But on the point of being thrifty, I always seem to be accumulating miles with CCs as fast as I can use them. You can talk about a cash back card, but I get international business class awards for around 50k each way and a small fee, so I’m not sure paying cash for an economy ticket is always the thrifty choice.

djp98374

he’s also older. My mom was a travel agent when you actually went to them pre internet days.

he is catering to people who don’t frequently travel. It’s easier to use a travel agent if you are going to do one of these big trips in your life rather than try to plan it yourself. It limits your need to do deep research.

another factor at play here is thr paradox of choice. If you have too many options it can be paralysis and thus you give up.

this has bern demonstrated in many economic studies. For example the food sample in the supermarket. You have only a few options people can choose, buy, and buy again. You have many options it becomes difficult to pick just one, thry don’t buy, snd they are a lost customer. You see it similarly in online dating with many choices.

someone thinking of taking a 2-3 week trip somewhere you have many many choices but you can’t do it all



the issue around loyalty programs— loyalty can skew your Choices of ignoring best deals or places because you want to fly X airline and staying at Y hotel because you have a loyalty program. This is found in many similar consumer behavior. Thrn in loyalty programs you may have a better experience than a non loyalty customer then if they treated everyone equal. Steves in his role can skew reviews on things.

scubadu

And...

Regards

scubadu

Exactly. This thread is just beyond silly. It saddens me that anonymous folks on the internet seem to get their kicks by throwing rocks at other peoples choices. Just bizarre...

Regards

Artpen100

Do you mean his choice to recline or his choice to advocate for only one class of travel?

gaobest

aww bummer on the AC membership not getting much use. I found a PLAQUE for AC from the 70s. I think it’s for an annual membership for some year. I don’t get it. Anyway glad that frequent flyer clubs started in 1981 - I think my mother mentioned it at some point in the 80s because a neighbor had such a ff status.


Totally eg me. I was still flying ua / *A when going to Europe with my Rick books. Of course from sfo it would be silly to fly aa / DL to London yet for Paris / Italy we had to transit in fra. In 2012 we did indeed finally fly AF Y premium for the elusive nonstop sfo/CDs which included bonus prioritaire for immigration and the exit from cdg. That was a truly premium economy product!!

Good point. He’d get backlash for flying upgraded. Of course I guess he also just doesn’t care. He’s always been very trim / fit with all his walking plus he’s not tall. So his body frame can easily fit in Y. I do wonder if some fans got mad at him for his marijuana advocacy.

onlyairfare

Rick lives in Washington where marijuana for leisure use has been legal for many years, and might as well have been for years before that. Many or most people don't care about the issue any more, and if they do, they can avoid Rick Steves tours.

Now that President Biden has said he is seeking loosening of federal regulations on marijuana, maybe the issue will recede in importance anyway.

frappant

I was responding to the contention that Rick Steves appeals to travelers who don't care much about FF or flying premium cabins.

Since his books and shows and other media are used by millions, there has to be a lot of them who do play the FF game.

scubadu

Clearly, people who play the frequent travel programs still buy his books and watch his shows. If I buy one of his books or watch one of his shows it's because I want, you know, the actual information in the book or the show I really could care less if he chooses to fly in coach or whether he has a frequent flyer account. It's not like that is some proxy that I use to decide whether I value his products.

Why does this matter, like, literally at all to you? Do his choices impact you in any way? Do you believe his choices are harming society or his business? Are there breaking news stories detailing how Rick Steves' personal travel choices are harming the points and miles game? Do you really believe very many people that can afford to fly in business class are choosing not to do so just because Rick Steves does not? Or that they aren't signing up for points and miles programs because Rick Steves does not? What percentage of the actual traveling public (and even his customers) do you think has ever even bothered to read an actual Rick Steves interview and actually know his beliefs?

There are a lot of things I care about in this world, but what cabin Rick Steve's chooses to fly in, or how he chooses to spend his well earned fortune, isn't really high up there on my list of care abouts.

Regards

SPN Lifer

The motivations, speculation, and beliefs of other FlyerTalkers need not be the subject of interrogation. If a thread is uninteresting, silly, or otherwise not worthwhile, the best reaction is to move on -- not engage in OMNI-style confrontation.

I agree that economy class flyers, usually including myself, survive just fine.

scubadu

Well, I guess the counter to that is if you start a thread on a public forum, you don't really get to control how people respond (within reason of course and within the terms and conditions). You kinda have to take all comers, so to speak. So, if someone wants to start a topic whose sole purpose seems to be to forward a narrative that sort of implies "this person is an idiot for the choices they are making" I think its completely fair for someone to take the counter side of that argument. And if a poster can start a thread asking why someone lives their life in particular way, basically implying its the "wrong way" (particularly someone who is not here to represent themselves) I'm not sure why it's out of bounds for others to ask why that matters to them? It's also a bit counterintuitive that it seems to be completely ok for a poster to start a thread questioning the logic/choices of someone else, but then somehow expect that poster is exempt for being questioned themselves?

And I think I'm hardly the only person who has ever said they are saddened by the topic or direction that a thread on FT has taken before. I wasn't aware that was the bar for admonishment...

Whether, my debate is an "OMNI-style confrontation" I would not know. I don't spend any time in "OMNI land" and to my knowledge I've never posted there.

Regards

P.S. I think you are following me around FT this morning...

SPN Lifer

The subject of the original post (OP) is a public figure, and the subject of a news article of likely interest to FlyerTalkers.

As you can see in my posts upthread, I have provided a link to a summary of the article (which I archived myself), defended Mr. Steves's principled stand, and reiterated the virtue of thrift.

Unlike Mr. Steves, other FlyerTalkers are not public figures. We should be discussing the topic in the OP, not other FlyerTalkers' motivations or ideologies.

And you are right, I did notice some confrontation in other FT threads this evening.

frappant

I started the thread because it was a recent profile of RS and it had some information which I thought might be of interest to other FTers, since this is the Travel Buzz forum.

In particular he eschews FF programs and trying to fly in premium cabins, which are things pursued by FT members.

It's for discussion. If some people don't care for it, they're not forced to participate.