virtuo0

That's an interesting question. Account cancelled by sharebuilder is same as account cancelled by customer ?

HikerT

The gloom and doom being posted in the comments at Gary and TPG's blogs is entertaining. The reaility is more lucrative sharebuilder promos have existed for over a decade. I don't really see this going away because Gary or TPG are posting about it. 2500 US miles is worth at most $25-40. The only real reason to do this is for the GS hit. For a straight bonus you can do better via costo which offers a $50-60 signup bonus.

Nikolaos

I apologize in advance, if this does not belong to a new thread (since there is already one for the Sharebuider hit), but what i would like to discuss is far more general than that particular hit.

First, let me note that i was introduced to the points/miles games by thepointsguy a couple of years ago and i am thankful to him for that. Still today, i have his link on my igoogle and i check his website on a regular basis (several times a day).

So, imagine my disappointment today, when i checked his webpage and i saw his post regarding the Sharebuilder hit. I respect the right of anyone to share information regarding promotions and offers, especially when this is someone's full time job, but what disturbed me was the moral hazard issues related to the post.

More specifically, the problem is that the post on Brian's website (and i believe a similar post in another website) makes available to a large number of people information that is disproportionally more valuable to a smaller set of people that participates in Grand Slam. And the worse part is that this information was obtained from the same set of people that these posts directly hurt!!

I would like to note that this is not an opportunity for free miles or a well-hidden promo or a smart analysis. These postings give a motive to everyone to participate in a promotion, offering something of tiny value, when almost surely the widespread participation will seize this opportunity, in the expense of the people that value that promotion the most (Grand Slam hit) and MOST IMPORTANTLY "created" that opportunity.

I have read a lot of threads regarding moral hazard issues related to sharing publicly information obtained in flyertalk. I can live with that. My problem is that in this case there is a "moral hazard inside the moral hazard". It is both the sensitivity of the information shared and ADDITIONALLY the disproportional value of this information for people participating in the GS and people they don't (that these posts refer to).

Well, what can I do??

Since the source of every moral hazard is the fact that one party does not bear the costs that the other party does, to begin with; IF due to these posting the miles are removed and i don't get my hit, i will remove thepointsguy from my Facebook and i will stop visiting his webpage in the future.

I won't happy to do so, but it is the only way i can think to protest against these practices. If his motive behind that post is to increase his website's traffic, then i am sorry, but i won't contribute to that anymore..

I respect the right of everyone to make a living out of Loyalty Programs, but then i will treat him as a business. And these postings are bad business..

tommyleo

I can't agree. The info posted here is not "ours" and can be shared anywhere once it is posted. That's just the way it goes. And as the Points Guy points out, making at least one $9.95 trade with Sharebuilder would officially fulfill the terms of the hit, if needed. That's still a cheap hit.

I don't agree, however, with the Points Guy belief that 2500 miles is worth $50.

booyaa

It went from Gary's View from the Wing blog, to Brian's Points Guy blog, to Slickdeals' Daily Deal email...

This deal is going south soon, just like the Amex better offer match deals.

virtuo0

You want to get a hit and milk the system as long as possible. TPG or whoever wants to increase his readership and make more money. If i come across a vulnerability i will not post it in a public forum because someone else can make use of that info and have bigger gain while i lose. IF it is a deal or promo its completely different.

beltway

What's remarkable to me is that it took years, quite literally, for the bloggers to notice this particular angle. This was a known issue in GS 2009, for God's sake.

(I'll leave for another day comment on the disgraceful tendency among some bloggers to lift material and/or ideas wholesale from FTers without so much as an acknowledgment.)

MJLouise

I put extra coins in other people's expired parking meters, so it all evens out.

tommyleo

I don't think ING Sharebuilder will care, especially when you think about how much money ING can make per customer who actually does open an account and start trading in it.

metoo

it has been advertised on slickdeals.net too

benzemalyonnais

All these bloggers are just trying to make cash from their sites. They're good reads and thepointsguy does a decent job. This is just an instance of us being smarter than him and doing it in advance. There isn't one thing he knows that isn't on ft, and he clearly takes all his stuff from ft. The writing is good, but it's nothing I don't already know. People are way too into these blogs for some reason. We at ft have the best gs plans and experiences - don't read the blogs

bryanwallace

i agree with last poster -he just takes it off here..
dont likethat he made a sep post about sharebuilder either

oliver2002

+1 on that. If you have decent traffic on your blog you can make atleast 1000$/month and these guys will blab out all they can figure out from FT and other sources. The nice part of FT as a source is that it doesn't shut up if it finds out you relay everthing on your blog. The FFPs and airlines will quickly stop feeding you inside info if they notice you can't keep a secret.

There is another tribe out there that consolidates info gathered on FT and other sources and sells them as newsletter for a subscription fee. Same concept, different form of implementation.

BTW, US DM monitors FT and especially this GS forum with interest. If there was anything that would annoy them, their partners will quickly know about it.

bryanwallace

what do they make their money from?
advertsing?

oliver2002

yep, its unbelievable what people will click on...

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