Prolific blogger living somewhere in Asia. Breaks lots of royalty related news and finds details in program changes before the next blogger notices. Deserves a lot more recognition imho.
Always interesting and fascinating stuff revolving around, well, World Geography, my favorite subject back in my school days. Prepare to go on a visual journey somewhere on Planet Earth.
One of the most knowledgeable bloggers in the miles/points space. Veers to the most advanced subject matters. Full time traveler who also writes for other blogs/publications. I learn from this blog.
A Jewish guy from Cleveland who has developed a fantastic resource and community around deals. Almost always adds value to his posts which, bizarrely, do not feel like pure marketing pitches. Nice discussion forums too.
Slowly building a blog network. Posts with original thinking. Love the travel related posts, not all personal finance related posts but can appreciate a different view. Nice addition of PFDigest blog to the network. Watch them!
Well, the most miles on the less amount of time possible and he means it. And about twice a year he will go on an epic rant which is just a beautiful thing!
Very well written and mostly original content. Not very frequent posting but when it comes it is really good usually.
You always find something different/original here. Always trying hard to educate readers and add value. I may not read every post but I usually find good stuff here.
Has been around a very long time, a veteran like me with very deep knowledge of this industry. Love the posts about the industry and the thinking rationale behind certain industry moves. Don’t care about his trip reports, food reviews, libertarian leaning rants against the TSA, Andaz pancakes obsession, etc. If you are in this hobby you should probably read what Gary Leff thinks.
Travel maniac. Likes to go to obscure countries. Has been to North Korea twice for crying out loud! Since most of us got in this hobby to travel you will probably enjoy some of his posts on the trips he takes, I do. He also has good knowledge of miles/points stuff and tries to post original content.
New blogger with a focus on travel photography. And we are talking simply the best photos appear here!
Excellent coverage of hotels and their royalty programs.
Blogs and has developed many techie tools for this hobby. I always like to read his points of view which tends to be unique. Not afraid to follow any line or call something what he thinks it is. I appreciate this direct approach, speak your mind, tell us how you really feel!
Does not post very often but when she does it is something really unique with great photos. She also hangs out with Yomadic so she must be a true original. No miles/points here, just pure traveling!
The blog tagline is: “Exploring the bizarre, the macabre & other secret wonders of the world”. And he does that very well, always interesting posts. For example, check out the post on smoking weed in North Korea on September 29, 2013!
Hard to pinpoint what it is about but I just love the abandoned places/urban decay photographs.
If you are in Britain you must be a reader. Posts frequently. Sometimes there is a gem. Always a good resource to ask UK/Europe questions. And saved TBB from spam drowning for insisting I run Akismet, always grateful for that.
Blog focusing on birding and ecotourism. Blogger knows a lot about miles too. You will not come here for a trip report featuring flat beds in First Class.
Notes:
The blogs appearing here is what I like to read myself! It is MY OWN opinion only!
Not in order of importance.
The permanent page appears here in the Blog Reviews.
Nice list. Respect restored.
Thanks a lot. it means a lot coming from you;-)
Good list. I was surprised how many of them I don’t know. Of course Viewfromthewing, Mile Nerd, Loyalty Lobby, Hack My Trip, and Dan’s Deals made the cut. I look forward to checking out some of the ones I haven’t heard of before. Nice post.
Gracias. I just listed what I Like, that’s all. Glad that it can help some readers.
Thanks for the list. I like The Blonde Gypsy and she seems to have a good sense of photographic composition, but unfortunately likes to ruin a lot of her photos with crappy instagram filters. Hopefully she sees your list and picks up some photoshop tips from Lenticular Travel. Less is more.
last time I checked the blond gypsy was in Istanbul with yomadic drinking on their way to Tsibilsi! keeping it real
Great list. Now put them under your blog roll.
One day, TBB moves slow.
Man, how did I not make the list?
You’re BEST SINGLE IDEA (Hilton 4 signup combo) includes the B of A Hawaiian Airlines card. Whatzupwitdat? Also you need pictures of a hot chick holding up credit cards.
many have expressed sorrow for not making the list. Sorry, try harder. Do NOT listen to Ramsey 🙂
I’ve been following you too long as this list looks pretty close to mine, except mine has Travelbloggerbuzz in the top 10. Bohemian Blog came in handy as it had a good post on Romania-I’m going in 3 weeks and have been making my list of places to see/do while there for my 2 days 🙂
I was hoping TBB was on your “Blogs I Love” list. I am crushed but I will somehow manage to get over it.
Did MMS just reveal too much info again?
In typical MMS fashion, the headline pretty much sums up the entire post, yet he somehow manages to write a book report about it anyways.
From his bottom line 20 paragraphs after the start of the post: “You can now buy Vanilla Reloads at Family Fare stores with a credit card. And you will earn miles and points when you buy the Vanilla Reloads with a credit card”
Thanks Darius – I don’t think people could’ve figured that out from the headline of the post “Vanilla Reloads Available at Family Fare Grocery Stores!”
Some blogs are into killing deals. TBB is not one of them, I am old school.
I could have broken open my deal and got me traffic numbers close to MMS or TPG. But I didn’t. I had some fun giving some hints, inspired some of you to think and work hard to figure it out and a few managed to figure it out, so they deserve all the glory, err, miles. I also just told a few I fully trust to keep it quiet. When they discover something they will reciprocate. This is how we benefit. Blasting it wide open benefits the blogger mostly as the deal is killed. And this one was one of them. it appears to be on its way of dying and surprised it lasted so long.
Oh, MMS FF stores deal was NOT it, pfft!
I am at a financial blogger conference listening to Everbank exec giving a financial market update….mega yawn!
Agreed about Dan’s Deals. I just can’t explain why I’m not as annoyed by his link bombarding (and he does it as much as anybody) as I would be with other bloggers. Maybe because he at least doesn’t mail in the posts
There is a LOT of filler posts you need to sort through though to get to the good stuff. We don’t need to know every time (aka 3 times a week) that Restaurants.com coupons go on sale
The forums are awesome, and not just for miles/points
I like Dan’s Deals too–it’s certainly possible to be commercial and promote your advertisers while still having a good site.
Thanks guys.
I think the difference is living it. I’ve been blogging and churning since 2004. Lots of people blog about cards but their lack of experience is evident and it comes across as an insincere mailed in pitch.
I’ve opened over 400 credit cards in my name. Heck I just had my first successful 12BM from one bank earlier this month 😀 Forget a million miles in a month, how about in a day 😉
It’s not just about earning, my 2 year old has been on 49 flights already (not counting the 24 in-utero). He knows the TSA drill better than most people in line 😀
The filler stuff is the hybrid platform that I run of deals and travel targeted obviously towards the jewish crowd and not the typical miles/points crowd. And there’s usually no more than restaurant.com deal per month but when it goes up there hundreds of people buy coupons so someone must be enjoying the posts 😉
And the forums are awesome if not a bit intimidating. But the community there is really awesome.
George, if you’d like to pop into CLE for the seminar I’m giving in a few weeks I’d love to buy you a beer. Maybe we’ll even get Ramsey to join.
Would love to here from Dan which bloggers he thinks have streed cred and which ones don’t. Come on, NAME NAMES!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaTbErVDQ40
Yes that was exactly what I had in mind…. Bonus points to Dan!
I’m in, but I want you to take me to a Great Jewish Deli, I miss that out here in Portland, Or. when I say Knish they think I’m talking about something tied to bhagwan shree rajneesh.
What about Kornblatt’s on 23rd?
As an ex-New Yorker, Kornblatt’s is, well, kind of OK. We like Kenny and Zuke’s better but is it still not a NY deli. Sigh. The things we give up to live here in the city some call Eden.
Quite a few famous Jewish delis in CLE.
Unfortunately none that are kosher.
Boston, LA, and NYC all have great kosher ones.
Actually Sarah’s deli in Detroit is pretty good as well.
While I’ve admittedly never been to any of the travel seminars, I’ve always got the feeling that your seminars blog FTU and the Chicago Seminars out of the water
You’re seminars actually seem to be what their intended purpose is – a miles/points seminar
Maybe FTU and CS used to be that, but now both of them come off as nothing more than the same old bloggers trying to market their sites to a crowd of mostly newbies who can be tapped into for future credit card clicks galore, and a small group of people who just go for the social aspect of it
391 newbies registered for Chicago Seminars out of 550. Many of which hadn’t heard about Flyertalk. We are indeed reaching a new audience 🙂
But look at it this way, with 1/10th of 1% being angry, George and you guys will pick up another 4/10ths of a reader
Its all good right ?
We?
Oh, thanks for reminding us that you are out of the game and you just mail it in a blog post per week these days.
It’s all peachy 🙂
Dan more details on your cle conference!! I live near Akron and would love to come!!
http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/35049/
I am tired commenting about agreeing with Steve again:-)
Nick: Certainly possible but so rare! Especially when u like your day job!
Dan: Thanks 4 the invite. Probably not have the time but I”ll check. Sometimes u come up w/ some really wild stuff…like 12BM with one bank!!!! is this a seminar only secret?:-)
To all: If you ever share something with me and ask me to keep it quiet NOBODY will ever know. You have my word on it! I guarantee it. I sound like the Men’s Warehouse guy… Oh wait, he got canned recently!
Angry: You like us naming names don’t you? I hope you contribute to my legal assistance fund ok ?:-)
And I again agree with Steve in his views abt the seminars, right on imho.
Glad to discover some new blogs here on these love and like lists. I had gotten so wrapped up in reading points and miles blogs and the repetition of it all. Good to be reminded of the more pure travel type of blogs I used to read being out there. I am in this for the destinations and experiences, after all.
The old timers did it all for travel with miles until the easy cc dough started rolling in. And most new ones can’t even fake it (the list is endless).
My list provides some notable quality exceptions. I hope it can be expanded.
kumbaya 🙂
Great list George, will have to take a good luck at some of the new ones you mention.
Random question, I read Money Magazine and Kiplingers Magazine. What other personal finance magazine do you recommend?
For consumer magazines, these two are fine. That gave me an idea, maybe one day I will do one with my personal finance recommendations list.
columns by Carl Richards at NY Times and Jason Zweig at Wall Street Journal are both excellent writers writing incredible pieces on personal finance!
Andaz pancake obsession! Laughed out loud! Scared those in the cubes around me.
And if you want to see something really entertaining, look at the coupon connection in Dans Deals. I saw someone offer a $250 United cert for $245 cash!
I thought the pancakes reference would trigger some laughs.
I popped in a few times at DD coupon connection and had the same reaction. Tough to get a real deal out of these guys:-)
All stereotypes are there for a reason 😉
Though trading vouchers and miles are actually against DDF rules ever since the airlines started snooping around and matching screen-names to real life names and closing mileage accounts.
MileValue lies again.
He’s thrilled that the Mercedes-Benz American Express Platinum application isn’t working.
http://milevalue.com/mercedes-benz-platinum-card-from-american-express-dead
He says that means his affiliate link is now best!
“Researching another post, I tried to include a link to the Platinum Card from American Express Exclusively for Mercedes-Benz because it was the best personal sign up bonus for Membership Rewards at 50,000 Membership Rewards for spending $3k in three months.
If the Mercedes-Benz version of the card is dead, then the best Platinum card offers is the standard offer of 25,000 Membership Rewards after spending $2k in three months:”
Yes. He TRIED SO HARD to give the best possible offer. Just like he always does!
And yet it is just plain false that without the Mercedes version of the card the 25k signup bonus is best or even a good idea. Here’s the way you write about the American Express Platinum card and compare offers (from a credit card pimping blog, no less, with no referral links!)
http://boardingarea.com/viewfromthewing/2013/09/11/there-are-many-different-offers-for-the-american-express-platinum-which-is-best/
This blog is secure in my Avoid list, no doubt. NO DOUBT!
Yeah, but how many readers do they have? Because how much you like the blog is supposed to be dependent on that
Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to take my wife out to an anniversary dinner at McDonalds
It must be the best food venue…. they’ve served over 99 billion people!
Also, they’re cancelling the academy awards this year and giving the best picture award to the movie that grosses the highest revenue. After all, best = most popular
Regardless of what you think about the guy, let’s stick to the facts. There is currently no public offer as good as MB was. Morgan Stanley Plat that SEEMS like it could be a decent replacement, also gives them the right to cancel the card if you’re not their customer. So, technically speaking, MV is correct in his assessment. Of course, anyone who’s heard the word Flyertalk should not have a problem finding a Plat referral link with a 50K deal (or maybe not, I haven’t checked for a while).
What, no MilesforFamily!? This is an outrage! (no MFF backlink either)
It was a tough decision 🙂
Ranking the miles/points forums in order of most useful information on it:
1) FlyerTalk
2) DansDeals Forums
3) MilePoint
But don’t worry Gary, we still love ya’!
Guess what? I agree again.I should add there is a a large gap between 2 and 3.
Glad to be included. Most of the rest of the list looks pretty good.
You are welcome, invoice is in the mail 🙂
George is not telling the truth. He actually does like me and my blog, but is too stubborn to admit it. Oh, everyone, read my post “Is FTU for you? Part two” You will be wondering, why didn’t George include it in his rant. He is the blog critic after all! Oh, and read my post “I am challenging Gary Leff” in which I have not one, but two comments from Randy Petersen himself! I verified his email, its true! Cheers!
Yes I am stubborn. And yes I may lie if it is a minor thing, does not hurt people and I can get away with it, I.e. I always deny it was me eating the ice cream at home (my favorite flavor is Vanilla!!!).
The average family has no clue who Leff or Petersen is! Write for them, not us quirky bloggers 🙂
The average family may not know about Leff and Petersen now, but they will, if I have something to say about it. Oh, don’t flatter yourself! 🙂 None of my posts were written for you (well, one, but I deleted it, so its like it never happened).
Though I would be lying, if I said, you didn’t provide me with some inspiration. Which is why I am planning to rename my site ” The brunette gypsy”, so I would have a better chance of landing on your coveted list. Approve? Now, onto the reason for my comment.
Breaking news alert !!! Folks, you heard it from me first! Lufthansa Miles and More master card is back with 50000 miles bonus. Time is of the essence. Ignore the fact, that the offer expires on December 15th I have a strong suspicion, it could go away any moment. So go to my site RIGHT NOW and apply through my link, located in “Support me” page. No need to type in my website name. I made it nice and convenient, by including my backlink above my comment!
It is SO much fun spamming TBB (the blog). Nothing against George(mostly), I like him and am glad he is trying to make his blog more coherent and less wacky. Well, other than koala photo, though it is kind of funny!
There’s a fine line between “self confidence” and “inflated opinion of oneself”
George, that crazy comment makes me rethink censoring comments… maybe you should start.
Anonymous, I agree completely!
lol, youre a all publicity is good publicity person eh?
Yes, sir (I think)! Me and George have a long (3 months) and complicated history together. You probably don’t know it nor should you care. Lets just say I am one of the few people, who can get away with this crap!
Thanks George!
As my thank you note, a fresh shot taken tonight, an amazing storm passing by 🙂
http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/6290/qw16.jpg
That’s an awesome picture!
Another creepy North Korean thing:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/10/18/north-korea-just-built-the-creepiest-water-park-youve-ever-seen/?tid=sm_fb
Speaking of N. Korea, I agree about Rapid Travel Chai being awesome and, unless I’m mixing my blogs up, he offers kind of the opposite of the full-time traveler thing in that he seems to stress the point that you can still travel even if you only have the weekends. I like that.
I saw that & marked it in Feedly.
FTG writer Christine K. Has a phd in this weekend travel thing!