Chris Elliott wrote “Is this story a fake? 5 ways you can tell?” which I found pretty interesting. We all know that Chris is not a fan of loyalty programs and miles addicts like us. Hey, everyone is entitled to their opinion and I certainly respect it. We all know that he likes to sensationalize some stuff to create controversy because, well, it helps to attract eyeballs and help pays the bills I guess. But never confuse his ultra negative position on our beloved loyalty programs with the good that he does for consumer rights and how he helps people (well, just do not mention you frequent boards like Flyertalk or ask for help with your 4 mile mistake fare lol). Anyways, I really liked this article and you should take a few minutes to read it. I quote specifically with my inflammatory comments in brackets:
- Sponsored content is “ads masquerading as objective stories” [when you read “amazing” in TBB it sure is…for now anyway lol!]
- “I’ve come to the conclusion that the practice of making ads look like a story, no matter how well disclosed, is bad for readers and bad for journalism, because it’s lying”. [good luck spotting the disclosures in some of your favorite blogs!]
- “Because the success of a native ad campaign depends on conversions, or ensuring that you buy a product [do you wonder why you see an orgy of affiliate credit card links in your favorite blogs…it’s conversions baby! Pumping works! Full disclosure: Not a single person has clicked on the TBB referral links since I put up that page! Yes it is sad. Don’t cry for me Argentina, it’s “learning experience”…it just sounds better than utter failure lol. Always thankful for the few readers who use my Amazon link, thank you!]
- “Affiliate links, please. Some of the most impressive native advertising efforts don’t involve mainstream media outlets, but blogs. They manage to create compelling and credible content [really? Only the ones in my Blogs I Like and Blogs I Love lists do the best job IMHO] designed for the sole purpose of either pushing readers to buy a product or adding more search-engine juice. In my experience, the endgame is convincing you to sign up for a co-branded credit card that lets you collect loyalty points. They’re the free-radicals of the native advertising world, because they look and act like real journalism. In some cases, they may even offer useful tips to readers. But make no mistake. These blogs are there for one purpose, and only one: to sell more products. Check the “helpful” links at the bottom of the page [bottom? how about all over the body of the blog post repeated to oblivion man!] and if the URL takes you to the product by way of an affiliate site like linkoffers.net, then watch out. It’s probably a clever ad. [The underlined font is mine for emphasis! Well said Chris, well said, thank you]
“Concerned About Security Breaches, Many Americans Are Using Cash Instead Of Cards” OMG, oh no! Please forward this to every bank person you know dealing with credit cards and encourage them to bump up the signing bonus offers. Will we see something over 100k miles/points at last?
Ok, this is big news: “October 2015: The End of the Swipe-and-Sign Credit Car“. Finally, the US is joining the rest of the world! I can’t help but fantasize that all these new Chase credit cards qualify as new “product” and we can all get the signing bonuses again #orgasmicthoughts! I bet some bloggers are prepping blog posts with every single credit card affiliate link they can get their hands on!
You have heard all the stories from the Sochi Olympics, the double toilets, the stray dogs etc. A TBB reporter sent to Sochi (with miles of course) went undercover to get you the real story and voila: The best bathroom stall in all of Russia [exclusive!]
This first comment is secretly masquerading as an advertisement for something…
Lol, good one!
Personally, I thought the QR expose was the most important news of the last few days. Crossed that airline off my list.
Dropped CapOne 360 tonight too.
I was not too surprised about QR. I have a friend whose cousin moved there from Greece and he says “he did it for the money” 🙂
I am still shocked Crapital One would do such a thing and the web hosts will go along with that. Bullying 101.I deleted it from my Referral links nobody clicks on 🙂
Thanks for the support folks, I think we have put this one behind us. There are a lot of bloggers who read this site, so if they get a similar message please feel free to contact me to discuss how I resolved it.
Also, there is a phishing scam directly linked to this email, so make sure it is legit before talking with who you think is RSA!
Third, finally 🙂
I am an eternal optimist, better than fourth! Aim for 2nd time next time #continousimprovement
So it doesnt get buried in the comments of the previous post – MileageUpdate, can you please elaborate (or drop some hints) on how to earn 100K DL a month on the cheap?
I’m curious as well. Skypesos were almost given away for free back when it was harder to MS. Who didn’t pretend to be bald (Bosely), visited LASIK or rented cars to get 9999 skymiles. And then the wonderful 150% bonus for points earned back in 2008. In these days with greater MS opportunities, earning skypesos has never entered my mind,
BA is the ultimate slut. There are so many ways to get down and dirty with avios. The points are sometimes hard to burn on weekends trying to go to warmer climates. Hopefully this will change on March 31st.
As a CLT resident, I’m really looking forward to March 31.
George, thanks for linking the C*pital One vs. Saverocity story. I’m still optimistic they’ll come to their senses and apologize.
I trust it may have to do with a bank that incredibly still offers such cards! 🙂
We pick our battles. We deal with companies we want. My life is better without me feeling #deltarage 🙂
I still get mail from Bosley lol.
I did some of those 9999 rentals, that was crazy!
I primarily burn Avios on Detroit to LaGuarida trips flying AA for 9k RT. I am thinking of burning some to go to DFW to spend a day in the Centurion lounge for a change before I cancel my Amex Platinum card.
Hmm, we have “mileage run” and “mattress run” – do we now need to coin a new term for last licks on the Amex Plat? “Lounge run?”
Lounge run…haha, that’s a good one. I am thinking about it 🙂
At 1p/$ someone must be desperate to put $100K/month on that.
It’s 70 cents per 1000 miles. So even pay “mid-tier” pricing I can get a family of four to South Africa or Australia and back in business class for $700.
Earning is 1p/$ spent.
It’s the simplest trick of all. All you need on top of the obvious knowledge is the balls to do it in huge volume, something I don’t always have. Oh and real float money
He’s said in the past that it was $70, so I’m guessing $100K in WalMart money orders at $0.70 per $1000, with a SunTrust Delta debit.
Buzz you know I have been pretty vocal about my politics here and you know where I stand. But my son works at a hotel here in Portland and for whatever reason John Boehner stays there quite often. Apparently even though he does not look it, he is a really nice guy who is very friendly and generous with the staff, who likes to chain smoke with a stiff drink in his hand. Who knew?
I don’t think Cap One is necessarily responsible for these nasty tactics. Must be their overzealous contractor.
Capital One is still responsible for the actions of its contractors.
Ha just coz he’s nice to staff doesn’t excuse him from trying to stiff most of the country most of the time
I think he spends too much time in a tanning salon 🙂
Today’s Loyalty Lobby leads with the Qatar story in Expressen and ends with the Eithad Guest Gold Match program. I know little about these airlines – slightly more about Qatar than Eithad, after the Expressen story – but I can’t help but wonder if Eithad is not much better.
The little poking around I did on Google turned up some postings and company reviews from ex- and current employees noting that conditions at Eithad are extremely controlling for their staff as well, including one blog that was banned by the UAE. I like Loyalty Lobby and I think he does a fine job of monitoring hotel promos. But to link to both of these stories in the same post just seems a tad ironic. Much like the issue of how lots of flying (think mileage runs) increases our carbon footprint, I think that many FFers who want to have elite F experiences tend to ignore the human rights situations in the countries they visit and on the airlines they fly.
I think these Middle Eastern airlines are all pretty much the same.
The Etihad Gold is indeed an excellent find imho.
I am not that crazy to visit the Maldives after I learned about the politics in that country.
Like Greece is better? LOL 🙂
Riots are inherently exciting lol
Travel is Free is awesome. That site is a better version of what MileValue used to be, back when MileValue didn’t suck.
I still blame Drew though for the downfall of MMS. It all started with the plagiarized LH 30 part series 🙂
I think it started way before that with my fav blogger. The crying for attention with ripping deals off of FT, especially the OD deal with pictures of family members holding VRs, the phony cards to speed through airport security lines etc left a bad taste with everyone except some suck ups who were begging him to censor (LMAO).
In the AuthorGate scandal, I actually hold Drew to be more responsible for everything that went on. No pride in accepting to be a ghost writer.
There is probably a lot more ghost writing going on in this space than we know, just my gut instinct.
I don’t blame Drew for getting paid to ghost write, he is doing this full time. He could easily have turned into a cc whore but he has not and his content is awesome.
If the Gulfstream guys call me I am taking it the freebie #wishfulthinking.
I still don’t get how people here equate ghostwriting to plagiarism.
Yeah, I agree. But in this case it was the blog owner’s insistence “I spent all this time pouring all over the LH loyalty program” and stuff like that 😉
If you’ve ever seen the opening title sequence for the Travel Channel show “Toy Hunter”, there is like a 45-year old bald guy who is ultra-excited, jumping up and down over a very rare Boba Fett action figure that Jordan is selling for a cool $20K. When I read Ben’s account of getting notified that he could fly a Gulfstream IV for free, I totally imagined him as that guy in the moment. It was definitely one of his better trip reports.
Never seen this show but sounds like fun! Yeah, I enjoyed the trip report as well.
Just heard from the Cap One PR people. They apologized and said they are investigating why we were targeted for that email. So I guess I should go back to being an adult and stop referring to them as “Crapital One”.
Dang it, I deleted them from my Referral links page and too busy to put them back now 🙂 Thanks for the update!
Been feeding a legitimate 529 (for our kid) using Ev.olve.
Today:
Oh well. As long as the funds stay deposited in the 529, I’ll whistle as I walk away. Helped unload some pesky gift cards from the comfort of home.
Quick question for the hive mind: is the $5K-every-14-days limit on Amex Gift Cards per person or per household? Thinking of having my wife “buy” another card.
Darn blog, it keeps me from jumping into these things lately 😉
We are having a snow day here in Portland or is it Portlandia?
On a short walk we saw:
> people sharing a pitcher of beer on the patio outside a popular pub
> clueless drivers gunning their engines and spinning their wheels as they struggled unsuccessfully to get up the hills
> no buses on the totally unplowed streets, although in theory buses were running
> couples drinking coffee under the umbrellas outside Starbucks
> a sign in an antiques store that said “Gluten-Free Antiques”
We also had a casual conversation with one of our city commissioners who was in Starbucks too. He remembered us although he hadn’t seen us in a number of years. We saw no one in flipflops and shorts, which probably should be counted as a victory for Portland moms.
Yup, that’s Portland.
I have only been to the Portland airport and really liked it. One day I will get there, sounds like a great place!