I was going to call this, “a data driven look at whether or not I’ve sold out”, but that was too long. Plus at the Chicago Seminar conference this weekend I was, what you call “inspired” to write a post naming names about who in this game has truly “sold out”.
I noticed a truly odd complaint about my blog. I won’t use the exact quote, but it was something along the lines of me going to the dark side because I did two posts this month with affiliate links.
This month.
Which really gives me such a negative view of people in this hobby. We want tons of stuff, but expect people to do for absolutely free. I mean really… would people rather I make no money at all and shut down the site?
Grant it, if it was just about money, I wouldn’t have blogged for 3 years not making a dime. But still, let’s look at the facts.
Facts:
Let’s take a look at a blog post from October of 2012… two years ago.
Holy goodness! What’s that on the right?
A discover link! Had I no soul? The Discover Miles card. I think it gave like 10,000 to 20,000 points, and gave 1 point per dollar. Well… I didn’t make any money, as luckily for the smart readers, no one was clicking my links.
But at some point I took them down as I decided that “respecting my audience” was more important than getting the numbers up for the big folk that matter.
The only thing that’s changed is that I’ve been granted more links, and use them less. And when I do, it’s only in context, and things I believe in.
Content?
Well, you decide. I posted about promotions. That page in 2012 was full of:
The PointBreaks list, the Radisson Promo, a fare, a normal 30,000 point bonus for a checking account, a “free 500 HHonors points” promo for clicking Like on facebook, a credit card post, and a hotel review.
No original content, at all. And heck, I guarantee you I didn’t click like for “500 HHonors points”… so I was posting about things I wouldn’t even do. What a sell out.
Yet…
While I had less traffic, the comments were largely positive. I was never called a sell out, and I was never ragged on for a Discover link, or a shameful post on Discover. And it seems that I’ve gotten more negative feedback this month. I try to spy on what people are saying about me. And well… it’s kind of discouraging.
Also, judge for yourself and compare to now-a-days- content.
- Complete Guide to United Routing Rules
- Complete Map series
- A Guide to ANA Miles
- Choice Hotel Rewards
- Best Use of Amtrak Guest Rewards
- The New Best Use of AA Miles (why you don’t need the Explorer Award Chart)
- What I Didn’t Say About United Open-Jaws
and so many other new posts I list here.
Personally, I think the posts have improved a lot. At least my effort has.
Plus, even comments on my own site. People angry because my maps don’t zoom (they do), or then complain that my award chart is “clearly” outdated and wrong, and how dare I blog with incorrect facts… Well, then they proceed to link to an award chart from another blogger as proof, that is two devaluations old.
Yes, I know, welcome to the internet. Welcome to the blogosphere, I’m past due for trolls. It’s just new to me, so my instinct is to get defensive.
First Class
*Update* forgot to add this
People have been predicting my sell out of a long time now, but more and more it seems. “Paul” seems driven to point out that my Cathay First Class flight is proof of my sell out… As if I’m rolling in it now. It’s a joke, but to prove that I wanted to point out 2 things.
1) The number of premium cabin flights I’ve taken in 2011 – 2012 = 9.
Again, 9 premium cabin flights from 2011 – 2012.
In 2013 -2014, the number of premium cabin flights is 1.
One.
People are bent on calling me a sell out regardless of the content getting better just seems odd. I know I shouldn’t take it personally but one can’t help but notice.
Good News From The Chicago Conference
What I realized at the seminar is that people are nice. Internet trolls are really a small tiny percent of the people out there. And, I have many loyal readers who just have never ever commented. Which is totally fine. To be 100% totally honest and serious, I’m just grateful that anyone is reading this goofy site. It’s pretty cool.
Even the negative comments are a blessing. It’s hard to remember that, and my reaction is to remind them… that they’re wrong. This site, in my opinion, has gotten better by the day. I try really hard to continually do better, and come up with original content. And the negative comments actually sometimes have good points. And at the very least they keep me in check. Maybe I’m even more careful about the facts I post/write. And therefore I don’t ever want to delete them.
So who’s a sell out? Me. I’ll admit it. In the past I compromised this site in ways I shouldn’t have. I should have had more respect for readers and myself.
Will I sell out anymore? No. Will I post links if I find them appropriate? Sometimes. I never want my content to be dictated by “sponsors” again, as this starts to feel just like a corporate job. A freelance corporate tool. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s just not what I want in my life. So I try to minimize the temptation, but folks… I really need to make a living. I’d just love to start paying off student loans this next year. 😉
Other Sell Outs in The Blogosphere
Trust me I plan to name names here.
Carrie read a blog or comment or something, I didn’t actually see it, but it kind of annoyed her. Someone basically said that they lost some respect for Stefan of Rapid Travel Chai because… he was associated with Daraius of Million Mile Secrets at an event.
Are you kidding me? This is how far we’ve fallen? It’s worse than politics in this space. Seriously. As if there’s a good party in this hobby and a bad party. Us vs them, and associating with “them” is pure evil.
I’ve read what people have said on TravelBloggerBuzz about MMS and…
Let’s go back to the way back machine again…
TBB praises Daraius in Jan of 2013 because he “always has a full disclosure on the top unlike so many other bloggers!”
He still does this today, but what changed? What changed is that other bloggers were required to do the same thing and the spirit behind what Daraius does at MMS got forgotten quickly.
More quotes include, “As always, brilliantly explained even a Caveman can do it.”
Now he’s mocked for writing to newbies.
For seemingly changing nothing, his blog went from “loved” to “ignored”.
Guess what? His site is no different now than then. The things people liked him for then, he still does now. The things people hate him for now, he still did then. It’s absurd.
And guess what… Daraius is an awesome person. He is seriously a great guy. I mean, this can’t be stressed enough. And he does this for the love of travel and like me and many of my readers, he’s interested in traveling to farflung places. Better yet, he’s a super nice guy and good friend.
Does this sound like a person worth hating? Or hating people who associate with him… like, I don’t know… me?
A couple other names.
Rick, from Frugal Travel Guy. Most people in this hobby are grateful for Rick. Some owe Rick. Other, frankly, they don’t like him.
But does no one remember that for years he had the best blog on the internet? I dug up some old articles of his (on Archive.org), even before I got started, and they were awesome. I found some awesome articles, some are secrets now. Things that if I posted publicly, I’d get phone calls of people angry at me. But he was on the cutting edge. He was the forefront of this “wild west” and he brought many of us, including me, into this hobby.
And he sold his blog. I have zero details about income, but he deserved it. We in this hobby who benefited so much from him, should be grateful enough that we hope to see him make money on his blog.
I just can’t understand the mentality of benefiting from someone’s hard work, and then hoping they don’t make money. It’s just not right. It’s not.
And let me tell another thing about Rick. I owe him big.
1) Rick’s FTG is the first blog I loved. Period. I don’t just mean miles and points blog, but blog. I don’t think I had ever even heard of a blog.
2) When I started my tiny little blog Rick helped me. He might not even remember, but he did a lot. First, he would talk to me and brain storm with me.
One of his first questions was, “what’s your niche?”, there are lots of miles bloggers, so what do you write about?
“Uh… just miles.”
So he dug deeper and asked me what I was good at. At this point, I don’t know why he didn’t just ignore me. But I told him that I love trying to get more out of stopovers. I didn’t actually write about it, because who would want to read that?
So he told me to write a post about stopovers every single week. And I pretty much did. Then he debuted me as a stopover “expert” on his blog and gave backlinks to my blog. Actually, I think he said something like “news from a niche”, as if stopovers was already my niche. I wrote him a guest post about different stopover rules and he got me more traffic than I ever had before. More than I could have dreamed of at the time.
He gave me direction and traffic without knowing anything about be.
3) He was generous with his time. Later when I wanted some advise, I emailed him, and he emailed back a phone number and told me to call him. So I did and he gave me at least an hour of his time. Then someone, either him or Howie (either way thank you), had the odd idea of having me come speak in Chicago.
Similarly, this same crowd didn’t like Rene from Delta Points. Truly no offense Rene, but I’ve never had a single SkyPeso in my life. No interest, so I wasn’t familiar with him, other than apparently he’s “bad”.
I have to confess, I judged him as an angry crazy person and thought nothing more.
In the last month, I’ve been at two conferences with Rene. And guess what? He’s a super nice guy. He walks around smiling greeting everyone, talking to anyone warmly. Truly a warm kind greeting every time I’ve seen him.
I didn’t get to talk to him much, but I regret it, as he seemed very friendly. But what I did learn from my interactions with Rene, is that my attitude needs a serious change.
Never again will I assume I know whether or not someone is a “good” or “bad” person based on what I read online about them. Heck, it’s probably not fair to judge anyone by their own online personality.
I met so many nice people in Chicago this weekend, and I should be ashamed if I can’t see through my own biases to realize that.
Are all “negative” comments bad?
Well, no. They are actually quite helpful for keeping people on their toes and what not. But is it natural to get defensive? Totally. I can totally relate to this. Some get more defensive than others. Maybe a blogger who reacts to a negative comment should chill. It’s truly not worth getting upset about a few people. But it’s easier said than done.
Regardless, does being defensive make someone a “bad” person? No, but I think it makes them human.
Of my few friends that think there are good and bad people in the space, these people you don’t like are my friends, they’re people who have helped me, or they could just be nice people.
Who’s A Sell Out?
Anyone who wants to benefit from someone and make sure they don’t make a living. Who gains from their hard work for years, and then hates them because they made money from it.
Anyone who hates someone for the same reasons they liked someone earlier… because hate sells. Have you seen the news?
So who’s the sell out?
This isn’t to say there is no place for critical feedback. Truly, don’t get me wrong. Some hotel managers don’t like TripAdvisor because they don’t like seeing the negative feedback. Some hotel managers like seeing negative feedback, so they know what to improve. I deeply understand they desire to improve in areas I need improving in, and also understand the human reaction of being defensive.
Conclusion
We’re all human.
That’s all for now. This weekend was super busy with flying, the seminar, more flying, layover, more flying, and what will then be a bus ride from Cancun to Merida. Then I can go back to spending 12 hours finishing and researching a post for Tuesday. But I better not have a single way to make money from my work!
For the 99% of normal non-angry readers, this probably seems like a mess. They are just thoughts. I’m truly not angry at angries. I just want to communicate that these people are good people… that’s all.
![Nick of FM on #40kFarAway [TIF Podcast]](https://travelisfree.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/travel-is-free-podcast-nick-40K-120x86.jpg)
Well, let me be one of the first to say “Bravo”. This needed to be said. I still don’t see the value in negatively commenting on a blog that I find useless, self serving or pandering. Why continue to read the blogger? MMS can be almost funny sometimes with the various angles he uses to point the way to a credit card bonus, but I found the SW Companion Pass through him and got mine without flying a single mile on that airline through his informative posts. I fly SW quite frequently now and that airline can be grateful for what Darius does. I continue to read him daily. I skim through posts from any blogger that don’t apply to me or how I travel and that’s that. BTW – I find your blog one of the most informative I read daily and you can thank MMS’s interview with you for that.
Thanks Bill, glad you found us via that interview!
Great post. The fact that people spend so much time and energy spewing hate people who are providing information for free and are offended where any of them try to make a few bucks is pathetic. They should spend their time writing to television broadcasters complaining about commercials for deodorant. As to you, I just want to say thank you for all your hard work over the years and say that it was a pleasure meeting you and Carrie this weekend. I think that you are great, but (as I told both Rick and Darius) you can’t The criticism or the praise too seriously! Safe travels always.
You’re totally right, and it’s certainly a pleasure meeting you, albeit unfortunately brief. And thanks for reading, of course.
Great post and write up. I really appreciate your attitude. I get so annoyed when people come on here and complain about affiliate links. They add nothing to the discussion and I consider them to be trolls. Keep up the great work and love all your content.
Thanks Carl, I appreciate it.
First off, it was great meeting you at the Chicago Seminars this weekend. I really enjoyed your IHG seminar on Sat. and the open discussion during the hotel breakout session. I really appreciate that you and all of the other presenters and volunteers gave your time freely and openly shared with us the wealth of knowledge that you have.
That being said, the conference was good, but it kind of left a bad taste in my mouth. It was my first time being there and I was taken aback by the open and blatant mockery of MMS in several sessions that I attended by the speaker and audience. Maybe this is my business perspective talking, but MMS was a sponsor of the event. They helped make it possible. I think they deserved a whole lot more respect than that. While my daily stalking of blogs doesn’t include MMS, I have googled specific things and found valuable answers on MMS. More often than not, the specific gripes I heard at the conference related to his content on MS. I haven’t really done much MS, but the one overarching principle that I know is that you have to test these strategies to see if they will work for you given your circumstances. Just because something works where a blogger lives doesn’t mean it will work in Georgia where I live. You have a responsibility to evaluate these things for yourself. It is your money.
I saw first hand this guilty by association mentality. I was in Stefan’s hotwire/priceline seminar and was sitting next to an individual who throughout the whole presentation commented to me that he was giving some great tips. At some point, Stefan just mentioned MMS and referenced reading an article there about cheap car rentals and all of a sudden it invalidated the whole presentation with this person. But wait, you just said….
Maybe I am missing something. I don’t understand the complaining about affiliate links. Like, at all. If you are in this game, you are applying for credit cards. Why not give some benefit for the people who are doing all the research so that you don’t have to? You are getting the cards regardless. You aren’t losing anything. Click on the affiliate link without complaining. Yes, I can acknowledge that there may be some pushing of cards for the sake of pushing cards or card recommendations that may not be the most practical for the average reader, but again as readers, we have to take some level of responsibility for what we choose to act on. No one is forcing you to apply for credit cards.
I love reading your blog. I have been one of those people who doesn’t comment very often (and just word vomited in this comment), but I met several people this weekend who went to hear you specifically. I don’t read your blog because it doesn’t have many affiliate links. I read it because you have great content and a great voice. Keep up the great work and let the haters hate!!
Thanks KC, and glad to hear you felt the same way. I too heard some of the same comments and I felt a bit saddened by that and yet felt great meeting so many nice people. Although some of these people I walked into meeting with a poor attitude. So this is largely a public commitment not to be like that. People are people.
Interesting post. Not sure if it was necessary but you know blogging can be cathartic indeed laying out our feelings.
I appreciate the shots at me, I really do. I learn this way. I have always said you can learn more from negative comments than positive ones (which are of course cool & welcome).
I need to respond to this but I have a lot on my plate today as I prepare to leave for a conference. Just a few points:
Nothing wrong with making money. I think you are the best miles/points blogger and YOU DESERVE to make the money rather than the blogs in my Ignore list. Imho of course.
Don’t care too much about what people think.
There will always be trolls, it’s da internet after all.
MMS: I used to like the blog back then. I have seen the “turn” in the content that has made it one of the pimpiest blogs in the miles/points blogosphere. The latest post encouraging readers to apply for the Ink Plus (lost count how many posts were done for this card!) for starting businesses made my stomach turn! You admitted to me you don’t read many blogs. Well I do, this is what I do at TBB. I try very hard to separate the blogs from the bloggers. But, you know, it is very hard to do so as the brands of their businesses are so interconnected (kind of a unique trait in this blogging space). Daraius is very nice and VERY smart.
Rick FTG: I agree about the blog before he sold it. You should read some of the comments he has left on my blog. You should try to take the FTG Credit Card tool on the FTG page for a “spin” and see what results you get. I better stop.
Delta Points: Can’t stand the blog and the airline obviously 🙂 Should I post the emails threatening me with lawsuits?: Of course I won’t.
As far as “hate sells” comment is concerned. I think that was kind of a cheap shot at me. And that’s okay.
I still love Stefan by the way, that was a joke. A lot of what I blog about is about entertainment. Education and inspiration too.
Maybe I should just go all positive, make peace and be nice with all bloggers because hating sure does not sell judging from my blog’s financial performance to date!
I read both TBB and TIS pretty regularly. TIS is very informative, and frankly is one of the very few useful and ‘pure’ feeling info sources in the travel blogging world right now. That’s why I cringe sometimes as you try and figure out how to monetize your popularity. Another issue is that TIS is becoming a one stop info source like TPG,VFW,OMaT, instead of an outlier pitching new content into the larger conversation. I remember when I went to other blogs for focussed, well researched info and now they pimp credit cards and half ass experiments. So, thanks for the good work, and I hope you can find a way to sell-in or sell-around, instead of selling out. I have met a lot of the bloggers you reference and they are nice people. But, that doesn’t mean they aren’t massive sell-outs. TBB is the only one with the stamina to catalogue it all, and I find the blogger baiting hilarious, and I’m not surprised when they take it personally. Both of you, keep it up.
George, I wanted to respond to your comment first here. Largely because I did name your blog by name, I consider you a friend, and because I don’t want you to think I’m anti-TBB. Truly not, and I support this kind of blog, for sure.
Obviously I’m not afraid to say it how I see it. Last month I called out the credit cards being pushed that I thought were crap. This time, it’s the other direction. However, this blog post isn’t about you, which is why I almost didn’t use the example of MMS.
But at the end of the day I’m not anti-criticism, am anti “US” vs “Them”. And there’s a lot of that. You weren’t the one critical of Stefan for being near MMS, after all, but it was said. And the division in this hobby is a growing trend.
Obviously some people get defensive at criticism. BUT, that doesn’t make them bad people. When you see these people and talk to these same people, you know they are kind, smiley, people to be around.
Criticize MMS content, but not him. He’s a good person. Period.
I’m not trying to say that “hate sells” = TBB gets rich. That’s way too many connections. But the news is based on the concept and it sure gets page view.
But regardless, I’m not talking about you or your blog. I’m talking about divisiveness.
There’s a saying, “nothing unifies like a common enemy”. And that’s what I mean. Having an enemy creates a better community (refer to news again).
And I hear ya about not caring about what people say… I’ll try to do that. Although it feels… hurtful, when people love me for my content and praise me because they benefit from it, and the single time I include a link, “sell out”. The hurtful part is that the people who benefit from me actually don’t want to see my site have any success. And I think that’s largely this “us” vs “them” mentality.
And in response to bloggers selling out, as JB says, I don’t care. I have my responsibility and they have theirs. Maybe TBB is absolutely needed, but my point really has nothing to do with selling out at the end of the day, it has to do with enemies.
There are none.
I don’t do “us” vs “them”… at all. I have my lines, and I do (obviously) say what I think. And sometimes I disagree with people.
Gary Leff commented on my blog very mildly disagreeing with me and I saw some VERY negative comments about Gary. Us vs them comments. But you see, Gary was just saying it like he sees it and there is no me vs Gary. I know Gary is someone I can email whenever I need advise, he’s that kind of guy. Heck, he’ll probably reply in an hour.
What people saw was “us” vs “them”… and it just doesn’t exist with me, my site, and others.
Thus, it’s totally possible to disagree with someone without dividing. I hope you continue to disagree with others, it’s healthy. I just never want to hear Daraius (the person) slammed again. And George, that isn’t necessarily about you. I’m sorry if you see it as such, although I can understand the implications it might have, and I understand it is your crowd.
Anyways… I hope it’s nothing person, these are just thoughts. And these thoughts are sparked not by your words by comments by others, and then having such a good time meeting people in Chicago.
I personally wish you the best and if you want me to remove anything seen as a dig towards you I will.
Drew,
Thanks for the response.
Advice because I really like you: You tend to just go on and on and write way too casually sometimes. Make it a bit more consise, I think it will read better.
I have stated before many times it is about blogs that have become big businesses. And their practices. I try very hard not to personalize this stuff. But this is a unique business as we really sell ourselves in a way…so it can be complicated! My readers will speak their minds, I am no censoring sanitizing North Korean dude like some blogs do (hey they are really nice people too!).
>>>>>>>the division in this hobby is a growing trend.
Maybe it is due to the pimping decibels going on from former blogs who actually put their readers first for a very long time and then flipped the switch? Take a look at some of my Feedly screenshots, it is insane! Are we supposed to clap and say “we want more”? Yeah, yeah don’t read it…well, I DO read and report on TBB, that is what TBB does…to entertain. The SNL of miles/points blogs woohoo!
You totally lost me on the common enemy stuff.
>>>>>>>>>>Although it feels… hurtful, when people love me for my content and praise me because they benefit from it, and the single time I include a link, “sell out”.
We like your stuff dude! And since there are lots of us there will always be some who will do that. Law of numbers or how that thing goes…
>>>>>>>>>>>The hurtful part is that the people who benefit from me actually don’t want to see my site have any success.
I do not think so. Refer them to my pumpization post and they will understand. Screwing around for 2 years in this and making it viable (especially for FTers like you NOT having cc affiliate links is just cruel). It is simple economics. But there is SCALE. I think someone here posted that 15 out of the previous 20 MMS posts were about the Chase Ink Plus card (not confirmed but sounds about right). And then you wonder why people may get angry? I think readers will benefit from your blog than him. And this is why your blog is in the Love list and the MMS blog is in the Ignore list.
It is not us vs them. I think you are exaggerating.
“Remove anything”? What? Never. We all stand by what we write! I wish I had a template to email you some really angry stuff I have received by these nice people.
So, go ahead man, pimp a little. You have earned it. Just don’t go piggie on us like some of them…There I go being divisive again 🙂
I am so angry right now I am going to take it out on the opposing goalie….who dared to pimp the MLMish Big Crumbs link lol
No hard feelings at all. Enjoy the traffic I am sending your way, sell it better than me 🙂
That comment by Steve below was just EPIC, wow!
I completely disagree that if you believe someone has unethical business practices, then you shouldn’t criticize the person. There are many people who are “nice” that still harm others and the key is to know if it is intentional (i.e., to make money without caring about the effects) or if they truly believe they’re helping more than not.
So while I have no knowledge about the intentions of the so-called sleazy bloggers, if you choose to question their business ethics then you have every right to extrapolate that sleaziness onto the bloggers themselves.
Rick lost credibility long before he sold his blog. Go back to his infamous post (now deleted) where he called out TPG for taking a hotel comp, while refusing to acknowledge the pink elephant in the room.
At the end of the day, you can’t change human nature nor can you stop “crabs in a bucket” types from being angry that somebody else made money. But you can refrain from picking up a gun and shooting yourself in your own foot. One of the bloggers you mention has, himself, blocked people merely for being friendly to someone he didn’t like. I’d never said a bad word about the dude and had in fact rec’d him to noobs but…my having a Twitter friend he didn’t approve of was apparently enough to get blocked. If he’s losing income because of not getting as many clicks, he might look as his own actions in that regard. From here on the sidelines I have no way of knowing who started the “blocking by association” war but let’s not pretend only one “side” is doing it. Most of us are not paying to hang out in cliques or meet people in person, and we have no way of knowing what the “sides” even are. Just by daring to comment at all, we apparently run the risk of getting caught in the middle. Who needs it.
Hmm, not familiar with that situation but it emphasizes the same theme, most people don’t know/care about “sides” in this hobby. And let’s keep it that way.
Drew, this post is spot on. This is one of the reasons that your blog (and Hack My Trip) is one of my absolute favorites. I don’t understand the constant vitriol in this space. I come to learn and contribute. If I don’t want to see a post with a bunch of affiliate links, I’ll scroll right past them or just ignore them. No one is forcing them down my throat. And, those that post the links can be doing a service to those of us that are just looking for the “easy” route. Keep up the good work!
Thanks, I will, and thanks for commenting to let me know. 🙂
I love you blog. I read it daily. Comment rarely but it is currently my favorite blog. However, I completely disagree about MMS and FTG. Have you even looked at MMS blog over the past couple of weeks? I finally unsubscribed to his emails when all 4 post were about the Ink Plus IN ONE DAY. I went back and looked and 15 of his last 20 post has links to the Ink cards. That is just crazy and definitely a sell out. I am sure he is a nice person but I have absolutely no respect for him as a blogger and do not trust any content he puts out. As he obviously has no respect for his readers. And I haven’t read FTG in awhile becuase his post are dreadful and chalked full of bad information. Also, a sell out.
I made no comments about their current content status to disagree with. I did say that MMS was praised for being transparent, and none of his business tactics have changed.
So this post isn’t about which blog in my opinion are quality or not quality, that’s not my agenda. My point is that regardless of how you feel about their content, they could be nice friendly people.
Drew – this is such a great post. I hope it’s something that we all knew and just needing reminding of.
Here’s something that bothers me, it’s part of what you’re writing about, and I’m always trying to articulate it (in my head or in words) and I’m not sure I do a good job, but here it is: People do all kinds of things to make money, some ridiculous, some great. Why is it that this particular method of money making bothers people so much? I mean, people could be selling iPhones or $40 stocking caps at J Crew (seriously, I tried to buy one this weekend and they’re $40). I didn’t get pissed off at the lady, but I was kind of miffed that the hats were so expensive. We actually benefit from the stuff that most of you miles/points people write about. So, if you make a bit of money at it, fine. How about it you make a great living at it? Why shouldn’t that be fine too?
There seem to be bizarre classes of people that we expect to work for basically free. Or to make just enough money to get by. Why? Why shouldn’t Rick be rich for helping so many of us travel much better than we ever thought imaginable? I don’t know. And I am Super liberal. Like, Socialist.
Your point about not making judgements about people based on their internet personalities is a great one as well. I like the constructive critique of blogs that is out there these days. It helped me to understand affiliate links and also to better use the information I was getting. When you know people’s biases, you can make better decisions about the information they give you. But it goes way too far into the realm of personal attacks. Hmm.
I guess that when you get good enough to attract trolls that should be a compliment? Keep up the good work on the blog, and try not to let them get you down. Oh, and it’s been said many times before, but mommypoints really knows how to respond to angry commenters. Super classy and to me just takes the wind out of the sails of the negativity.
As mentioned by TBB and others. We don’t expect people to work for free. I’d be happy to apply through a blogger’s affiliate link like Drew’s.
Do you read TPG or MMS? All they do day and night is sell credit cards and make millions preying on gullible people. As Jessica mentioned above. MMS is constantly selling the Chase Ink card.
Do you trust those bloggers to look after your interests or THEIR interests (aka pockets)?
To Jamie’s credit though, my point was that I was called a sell out for having 2 links in one week! My content didn’t decline nor was it compromised. So I think it’s safe to say that it sure sounds like many people don’t want me to make a living at all.
And Jamie acknowledges that sites like TBB (I’m guessing) have been great for learning about how affiliate links affect this hobby. However, we distinguish between blog, internet personality/reaction, and person.
I love your blog. I don’t know about secret/non-secret or the politics of travel blogging. But if your audience (and money) comes from other bloggers or travel secretists, then you should worry about it. But if your sometimes money comes from regular people like me, then just keep doing what you’re doing and you’ll be fine. Personally, I use your links whenever possible, because I’d like you to stay employed so that I can read more of your blogs!
Thanks, I certainly appreciate it Jessica. I hope you’re right!
Drew
Don’t hate the person, hate the act.
There’s a lot of grey area here. I’m sure some of these people are really nice and generally good people (I find that’s usually the case). However, you can acknowledge that and still disagree with how they go about their business. Someone pushing an inferior affiliate link isn’t *helping* their readers. They are hurting them. for their own enrichment.
I agree with the spirit of what you are saying though. People shouldn’t make it personal and especially shouldn’t be criticizing people for talking to others at frequent flyer conventions. That’s just juvenile.
But what people should be doing is applauding great content and supporting those who provide it while also providing honest and factual criticism of some of the more nefarious practices in this space. We should all, especially those of us who have been doing this for awhile, be encouraging best practices. That includes constructively criticizing those who don’t follow them.
Exactly. That is what I’m trying to say. Support good content, and don’t read bad content… but don’t hate anyone.
I don’t get the hate either. Years ago I used to read FTG, MMS and TPG. However I noticed the content changed to where it felt it was being phoned in. Rather than bitch and moan I made the decision to not read these blogs again and never use their links.
However I attended FTU in LAX end of 2012 where many of the more popular bloggers were presenting. I came away from that function with a strong dislike for the majority of them. I did not like their ethics and most had a air of smugness about them. I don’t even get the love for Randy Petersen he certainly did nothing to inspire me. I was actually embarrassed by the quality of some of the presentations (Pizza Guy was so bad it is hard to put it into words) yet he is held up there as being such a great blogger because he is part of the inner circle. On the other hand Milevalue was the best presenter by far yet for some reason the other bloggers don’t like him and I notice he is not invited to any of the FTUs anymore.
Can’t say I can speak on this event, but I agree, I don’t complain about content I don’t like… I just don’t read it.
Really outstanding post. I’m always perplexed when people write hate about bloggers making money. First, why should they spend their time writing for free? Second, why are they continuing to READ it if they hate it so much? Your blog went from ‘meh’ to amazing over the past year. You have found your niche and hit your stride and I hope you are financially rewarded for your efforts. I must disagree with your comments on MMS, however. While he might be a great guy, his posts have over the last year turned from informative and insightful to nothing but pure affiliate link posts. But what did I do about this? Did I post hateful comments? No. I simply unsubscribed and stopped reading!
Thanks for the comment Lynn. I too feel my blog went from ‘meh’ to amazing lol. I actually tell Carrie when I’m writing sometimes that I feel like I’m hitting my stride. But you can’t win em all.
I don’t feel I made any quality of content claims to disagree agree with but I agree he is a nice guy.
Bravo!
Thanks MJ, hope to spend more time around ya next time.
Drew
Drew, keep doing you, man. I started reading this blog about 2 years ago and I’ve learned a crap load here! I try to compensate by using your links too. I hope I could have made it to Chicago this year but didn’t get the chance. If you are ever in Oklahoma, hit me up. Best of luck going forward.
Thanks Temo. Not sure I’ll be in Oklahoma anytime soon but hopefully there will be another event to meet at.
Drew
I’m just right across the border from Texas so Dallas is close for me. Anyways, keep your head up Drew.
Great post. I do not understand the dust-up about affiliate links. I have a spreadsheet of the CC’s I’m signing up for next. When I see an affiliate link, and I’m not in the market..my eyes just keep on scanning…I don’t see the big deal. I scan all the blogs, if I’m not interested in the destination or topic….I don’t chime in with a negative/hurtful comment….I just keep on going. Really I wish the best for you and your wife and I really, really love your blog. Maybe one day, my husband and I will be able to do you what you’re doing traveling non-stop.
Thanks Lively. I completely agree and do basically the same thing. Appreciate the best wishes, and hope to see ya on the road.
I 100% agree with you Drew. It is hard to separate the blogs from the bloggers until you get a chance to meet and talk to them. There may be blogs you don’t agree with, but when you talk to them, they are very nice and friendly people. I will admit that I had a preconceived notion of what Rick (Frugal Travel Guy) and Rene (Delta Points) would be liked based on what other people said about them, but talking with them for a few minutes at the conference has totally changed my perspective. The old adage is true: don’t judge a book by the cover (or the negative reviews online).
Exactly exactly. And that change in perspective for me was the point of this post. And largely confessing that. Glad to hear your confession too. 😀
As I have mentioned to you before I think your blog is one of the very best out there and in many ways is indeed the best. I save and earn tons of money because of the content you provide. The same goes for Greg at FM. Therefore, I selfishly want you both to continue blogging. How can I ensure that?? Well, one way is to make sure you are compensated for your blog so that you can keep writing it. The trolls that want to you to provide them with valuable information but become furious with the notion of possibly experiencing the excruciating act of scrolling past or ignoring an affiliate link are simply big-fat-stinky-stupid-lazy-angry A-HOLES! Ignore them!! I want you to make money from your blog. It doesn’t degrade the information you provide. I would like you to display affiliate links but until you do i’ll head to your credit karma links and click on them and steer others to do the same. Keep on blogging, traveling, having fun and sharing your experiences and insights with us – I for one appreciate it very much!!
Well I appreciate the encouragement, and I too selfishly want the blog to continue! lol
Just takes time I guess.
Definitely working on ignoring the trolls.
I can name names.
Some people BREAK stories and some people REPORT (copy down) stories.
Story breakers — Loyalty Lobby, View from the Wing, Frequent Miler, One Mile at a Time, Travel is Free…
Story reporters (zzz) — Million Mile Secrets, The Points Guy, Frugal Travel Guy (any guy really)
Those blogs are good for beginners but those guys shouldn’t be going to conferences to preach to the diehard. They know less at this point than diehard people do.
Although i popular demand is an indicator of quality I would certainly be so far on the bottom I wouldn’t be on the list.
I”ll 100% agree with this article, but what I can say as a daily reader of 20+ travel blogs, is that I’m beyond tired of hearing about the 70k offer from Chase. I got a 60k offer on both the Ink Plus and Ink Bold earlier in the year, without paying the first year’s annual fee. I feel like for weeks now 90% of new posts on MMS have been directed at the 70k offer. But, I’m completely willing to admit that I got my start on MMS, TPG, FTG, and that I wouldn’t be where I am now without them. They’re fantastic for beginners, but sites like yours are where I go to figure out how to best use the million points I’ve gained this year. I’ve probably read at least one article on every site I have bookmarked that completely changed how I approach this game, but without a doubt you have the most individual articles that I’ve bookmarked. So thanks for writing something different, something that I can’t find on every other boardingarea blog.
Wow, definitely appreciate the compliment. And very glad to hear that this site has been so helpful for you.
I am actually going to go the opposite route from the haters. If anything, I don’t think you get enough CC referral income in comparison to the quality your blog provides. Perhaps it might be a good idea to do a separate “Best CC offers” page where you have your referral links, as well as offers with non-referral links, much like how Frequent Miler does it. I’ve been steering my CC sign-ups through his page as I feel he provides great content without overselling his agenda or trying to steer people to premium travel so that they can drive up referral income, but I would be glad to steer few sign-ups through your page as well if it was easier like his setup.
I actually get that sometimes, and definitely appreciate anyone going the opposite routing of hating on me! haha
Wish I had the ability to have the same set up as him, but Greg is a great guy and great blogger to support.
A factual error or a difference of opinion is fine to express, but I fully agree that nobody really benefits from useless negativity, such as we often see. When there’s a post I’m not interested in, it only takes me a second or so to go somewhere else. It takes a lot longer to stick around and be negative. I do appreciate this blog and hope to be reading it and benefiting from it for some time to come.
+1
You can tell by the headline whether or not you’ll like the post on most blogs. So no need to read and complain lol
That about sums up my opinion as well. I have a lot of blogs in my Feedly, I scan through and only click on the ones I want to read. This usually us around 10% of the blogs. Drew, your blog is one of the ones I do click on because of your excellent content. I don’t care if affiliate links are present or not, I am well capable of doing my own market research and finding the best deal at any given time for a product I want. I’m not a fan of over-sharing as some other commentors mentioned as a technique bloggers use to attract readers. Living in BNE, it is highly unlikely I will ever meet any other bloggers in person. For me, it’s all about the content if I read a blog or not. Keep up the good work!
Drew,
Your blog is the cleanest-looking-best-new-content-travel blog on the block. Don’t let the haters get you discouraged. I’m looking forward to my next App-o-Rama and using your links so you can pay off your student loans.
You’re the only blog where I actively look for new content before the morning email.
For the record I read: TIF, MV, RTC, FM, and MMS. MMS more for giggles and what is becomming the rarer and rarer tid-bit.
Obviously I appreciate any support, but also sincerely value people just reading and enjoying the blog and letting me know. So thanks.
Drew. Thanks for your efforts on behalf our our hobby this weekend. Everyone appreciated your being here. And it was great to meet you face to face as well. And I do remember our early conversations and glad some of the info may have helped. I hope to see you and Carrie again soon
Rick
Certainly glad to be there, and hope to see ya soon as well.
Man, after a weekend with all of the notorious credit card pumpers—YES, SOME OF WHOM ONCE HAD VERY AWESOME CONTENT–I can’t help but think you are suffering from “Stockholm syndrome”.
Yeah, FTG and MMS are not as evil as trolls make them out to be, but, c’mon, they are not as altruistic as they portray themselves either.
I sense something else in your post. Are you preparing your readers for a major move to (more) CC links? I recall posts in this same vein from MMS and OMAAT just before they went whole hog too…. (Not saying you shouldn’t do it, but let’s not hide it either…)
I remember a very similar post from Mile Value too. I think everybody will agree that after that his blog went from awesome to sell out very quickly.
I don’t read that blog really so I can’t speak on it, but really, please judge my content based on MY content. It’s really fair to me.
my first thought too. foundation = laid.
Mark, please judge my content based on my content.
Gotta agree.
You decry “haters”. That’s silly. Nobody would waste their “hate” on a so-called “travel blogger” – not important enough to bother hating them. Respect is another thing entirely – maybe that’s what you’re seeking?
I think most bloggers have a very inflated sense of self-importance, and delusions of expertise. Lets be honest: 99% of what appears on “travel blogs” is just common sense stuff, easily discovered with just a few search engine clicks (I always laugh when I read them refer to “hacking” as if my grandma is “hacking” the stores by clipping coupons – same thing). Now, there are occasional exceptions, and to be honest, your blog is often (although not always) an example of one of those exceptions, with actual original content. But the most popular blogs are just quick ‘n dirty copy-and-paste efforts, with no original content and certainly nothing that could possibly be passed off as “expert advice” (never mind” secrets” – that’s laughable).
I’m not sure why you feel so defensive about this that you have to post a long screed justifying the fact that you’re in this for the money (maybe bluecoat is right – more links coming?).
What I do think is missing from every blog is the simple statement making it clear that what viewers are reading is a commercial – that it is simply a for-profit business, not some high-minded resource of information given freely to benefit others. This means there’s a conflict of interest – just as there is when shopping for a new car at a dealer, or seeking investment advice from a stockbroker. They’re not doing their thing for free and neither are you. That’s OK. But claiming or hinting “I’m just doing this to help you, my dear readers, take your loved ones on fancy vacations” is completely disingenuous and insulting. Lots of blogs do this. Constantly. THAT’s why people say bloggers are dishonest.
Hate? Certainly not. Don’t take it personally. As Sonny said to Michael in The Godfather: “It’s business.” Nobody should ever loose sight of that.
It would be impossible to always give content that’s 100% new to 100% of the people.
I’m not just defensive, I’m partly confessing the feeling of judging someone and then realizing that person is actually a nice person. That’s what happened to me, and Grant above said he felt the same way.
I remember MMS’ coming out post too. Basically saying none of you want me to do it, but I’m gonna anyways 🙂
I understood why he did, and I think he may have been one of the pioneers as far as full disclosures are concerned, which was great at the time (now they are akin to warning labels on bottles of beer that nobody reads). But the sheer percentage of credit card posts versus quality posts these days is disappointing, to say the least. As pointed out he’s a smart fellow and I think he knew what he was doing all along. Good for him in terms of being successful I say, even though I don’t agree with the method.
I agree, good for him.
I admit I had to laugh at the Stockholm syndrome comment. But I have heard Daraius tell me multiple times that he doesn’t care to make more money. There are things we’ve discussed that he could be doing but just isn’t worried about. Just because his blog is very successful doesn’t mean he isn’t an altruistic person. In many ways, he and I are not that different.
So regarding your last comment bluecat, let me say two things:
1) Please, please judge my content based on my content and not other bloggers. Seems fair to me.
2) I recently lost my best links and am stuck with what I have for now. I lost Amex and a few others direct, and I lost them likely from not doing enough revenue as I rarely used my direct links (for a number of reason). So if that was my twisted plot… it would be VERY poorly timed.
I agree on the best credit card links page. Obviously only do the ones that are truly the best offers (though you already know that). But I think most people (including the seasoned folks) think that you have the best blog out there, so I’m sure most of us would support you as long as you keep doing what you’re doing.
Money talks, so for the people that hate all the credit card pumping, support Drew because he’s A. Honest, and B. putting out the best content (by far in my opinion). That way the pumping blogs will start to fall by the wayside.
Everyone: Do what this guy says!
But really, thanks Matt, I sincerely appreciate hearing that, I do work hard on my content and I’m glad to hear others see that.
I think you are sorely missing the point.
The argument isn’t against monetizing the site, rather it is against HOW the site is being monetized. The credit card selling is downright predatory on OMAAT and VFTW (among others). I truly feel sorry for the folks reading that content that don’t know any better, and I have no idea how these people sleep every night…. my sense is that you are correct and they are “good people” who probably don’t ultimately understand what they are selling.
In the bigger picture, I think this speaks to the ineptness of the “travel blogger” industry. Can you really not find ANOTHER way to monetize traffic that you HAVE to resort to credit card links? We are in an era of endless online content…. scratch your head and think for a second about how OTHER SITES monetize their viewers, and do that.
OMAAT and VFTW are not predatory. I’m an expert in the space and get no financial remuneration for referring anyone and my advice to my close friends mirrors the advice from those two blogs, with just a few inconsequential tweaks. They’re honest and post non-affiliate links if those provide better offers.
In the bigger picture, I think this speaks to the genius of the “travel blogger” industry. There are a million niches out there that slap up display ads or try to trick their readers into buying useless ebooks, but the “travel blogger” industry has found a way to earn a far higher amount per pageview than almost any other provider of online content and to do so in a way that doesn’t take a cent out of their readers’ pockets and in fact provides the readers with a windfall of free travel! That’s genius, not ineptitude.
You are an absolute troll, and claiming to be an “expert” does not make you one.
People think of these “bloggers” as fiduciaries, when in fact that is the furthest thing from the truth. What sort of message does it send the unsuspecting reader when 10+ affiliate links are inserted in a hotel review at the Park Hyatt Paris, at OMAAT for instance?
You are either a fool or a liar if you think that a bombardment of affiliate links cost the reader anything (and even more so if you think they actually help). Please tell that to the majority of Americans who are over leveraged and in debt up to their eyeballs. Because the one thing America needs is more debt….
You actually can have a successful blog without the affiliate links, think Saverocity or Hack My Trip. However the one thing these guys have that the others don’t is good content.
I’m willing to verify that Hans is twice the expert I am. And he’s neither a fool or a liar.
“Let’s go back to the way back machine again…”
I couldn’t go to the Internet Wayback Machine because Darius has configured the millionmilesecrets.com robots.txt to prevent the Internet Archive from taking snapshots of his site. Coincidentally, the Wayback Machine showed that he inexplicably scrubbed Chase reconsideration info from his site a few years ago.
“TBB praises Daraius in Jan of 2013 because he “always has a full disclosure on the top unlike so many other bloggers!”
He still does this today, but what changed?”
“His site is no different now than then.”
Would you consider these two disclosures the same?
Jan 2013 MMS Disclosure:
[Disclosure: We do NOT receive a commission for the United 55,000 mile offer, but do receive a commission for the worse 30,000 mile offer. This post will explain how to get the better 55,000 mile offer!]
Aug 2014 MMS Disclosure (on a post promoting the affiliate 50K United offer, with no mention of the non-affiliate offer adding a $50 statement credit.)
[Disclosure: We get a commission for links on the blog. You don’t have to use our links, but we’re very grateful when you do. American Express is a Million Mile Secrets advertising partner. Here’s our Advertiser Disclosure.]
Don’t know what that’s about, but the better offer wasn’t public and I couldn’t get it, nor get Chase to match.
The best thing about TBB as well as this post (and others like it) is the conversation they generate. Should full-time bloggers make money? Definitely, if their readers think they deserve it. At the same time, Chase and AMEX have put filters on many of the previously very good bloggers so that the days of learning about limited time non-affiliate deals from those blogs are long gone. As a result, newbies who haven’t yet gone beyond reading what shows up in their inbox no longer get the wide-angle relatively unbiased picture that they did 15 months ago. Whether this is a good or bad thing is debatable, but I’m glad there are voices out there sharing this reality. While I really dislike a couple features on the current FTG site, I have nothing against anyone. I do wish whoever is actually in charge there would keep the excellent newbie page (written by Rick?) and dump the “New to miles? Apply for a Sapphire now” banner and the bad-advise CC recommendation tool.
This reminds me that MMS always publishes the best links despite Chase’s policy. Very interesting.
So I agree that sites like TBB do bring things like lesser links into light, but with sites that have strong ethics in the first place, like MMS, it doesn’t matter.
Either you are incredibly naive or you think your audience is.
If you are good friends with MMS or if you “owe” FTG, why shouldn’t we think you are biased? Are we supposed to think you are a good judge of character? You have had business relationships with them! Talk about conflict of interest, of course you are going to not talk ill of them! Your readers can see thru that I hope!
Or else you are naive, thinking these people are your buddies and love you for just who you are. Not because you are in similar businesses.
Go ahead and call me a troll but I hate it when someone who I respect for the work they have done (that’s *you*) tries to leverage the goodwill they have built up to go where they have no knowledge. You know travel and how to exploit awards. You don’t know human nature of your fellow bloggers. Stick to what you know.
Maybe I am bias, and I am friends with Daraius, because I think he is a man of good character. However, I have no business ties to any blog period. I hope my readers know that I’m honest and speak my mind about anything.
Why is the assumption to assume these people are evil? I’m not a psychologist but you don’t have to be to think someone is a good person, and that’s all I’m saying.
I really like this blog and read it daily. What a lot of readers value the most, as you said, is the original content. Don’t worry aobut traffic, it will come back if you keep the good work up. However, if the blog starts to fill up by rant like this, the nutrition value of your blog is quickly diminshing. And we’d all hate to see that.
Thanks Patty! I hope you’re right! This isn’t a travel rant blog, but this was on my mind, and it is my blog. However, mostly miles and points are on my mind, so don’t worry.
Just keep doing what you are doing and ignore everyone. Especially your United routing stuff. It got me around the world from new york to Israel to Hong Kong via 12 hours in addis and home from Bangkok to Chicago with 12 hours in Beijing for 65k miles. Thanks.
Drew, as long as you give martin what martin wants, you will have martin in your corner. Now….back to what martin needs please!!!!
lol
Thanks Martin, very glad to hear that we may have helped in your successful trip!
Drew, blogs and cc are new to me so I try to read most of the bloggers that write about travel and points. I like your blogs the best and have benefited from some of them (UBER) came in handy while in NYC this past week. Please keep writing.AND don’t give in to advances of CC. Why don’t you set up a PayPal account and take donations? I think you would be surprised at how fast you could pay your student loans off???? Any way its hard to turn down offers from the big boys especially when you are hungry. Keep blogging!!!!!
Thanks Janet. Many people have suggested donations but I just don’t feel comfortable with it. I appreciate the thought and support though!
It’s a little sad that you would have to write a post like this – and sad that even a blog as worthwhile as this one generates hate.
Of course, one of the interesting things about travel blogs, as opposed to say cooking blogs or sports blogs is that the primary tool to achieve free/lower cost travel is credit card sign-ups. Related to that is the fact that banks pay handsome fees to bloggers who drive people to apply.
So you have this seemingly confusing situation where bloggers tell people to apply for cards – often several at a time app-o-ramas, do the minimum spend – perhaps through manufactured spending, and then throw the card in a draw until the annual fee is due – and then cancel. And the banks are paying them to do this? Why?
Because the banks know that a significant number of people will run up debt and pay interest, and that interest will more than compensate for the blogger’s commission and the payments to the airlines/hotels for all the points.
So for some people the results are not good, and for some people that dream trip never materializes – because award space is not available or travel dates don’t fit with their vacation dates. And some may vent against the bloggers who led them down the path and conclude – incorrectly – that all bloggers are bad.
Drew, this is an excellent blog, you Carrie provide a lot of really good information. I’ll bet that for every hater there are 100 people silently applauding you every day.
Ok, cue up that Taylor Swift song – the haters are gonna hate, and I just gonna shake it off.
Thanks Tony, I really appreciate the continual support of our blog here. And I’m glad to hear you find it useful.
Definitely learning to tune out haters, as I know it comes with the territory.
You seem to care too much what people think about you. Who cares if you “sell out” or not. You have to make a living and so does everyone else so if I were you I would try to make some revenue out of this blog already, it’s been years! If people don’t like it they can go to other blogs but I’m sure they won’t because you have some of the best content out there. I frequent 3 travel blogs, One mile at the time, TravelisFree and Viewfromthewing. Lucky (Ben) will sometimes have 4-7 links for the same credit card in one post!! But that’s ok, I don’t care because I respect him as a travel blogger/writer.
If you were all hip hop stars Lucky would be Eminem and Gary would be Jay-Z…and you would be NAS. This might not make sense to you but if you watch South Park you would be the Butters of the group. Doing everything for everyone and not expecting anything in return. What I’m trying to say is that you’re smart Drew, if this blog is your “job” you should be getting paid.
I don’t think he cares too much what people think. I see this post as more a result of his having a venerated place as a “good” blogger (because he hasn’t monetized his blog) among the TBB/hater crowd. That has given him a platform to speak truth to the hater crowd. I say, kudos. I’m very sick and tired of the unreasoning hatred. I’ve yet to find anyone who will objectively show me predatory exploitation of newbies. Once I start showing links and examples and quoting stuff, they usually poutily admit that they’re just tired of the volume of CC links rather than there actually being dishonest exploitation. They don’t seem to get the concept that if something drives you nuts, avoid it. There’s no sense in making a rude spectacle of yourself.
I suppose this is the way of the world, but the biggest irony of the TBB/hater crowd is one of their central charges against the monetizing bloggers is dishonesty, but yet their anger is a total fact-free zone. Take this gem from TBB’s post yesterday:
“Welcome Chicago Seminars Attendees! Every single blog post below exists for only ONE reason and ONE reason only! If that reason disappeared tomorrow every single blog on the list will cease to exist, guaranteed. Don’t be a Tool! Enjoy the rest of your Sunday! Pump It Up!”
That is demonstrably untrue. Many of these blogs were going long before credit card referrals became a thing.
For the record, I read TBB occasionally, mostly for the positive content, the links to travel destination content, which I very much enjoy. I also don’t dislike George as a person, I just find his beliefs on this particular topic very wrong.
(Sorry, JC. Most of the above comment wasn’t directed at you. It just provided a launch pad for things I was going to say anyway.)
Hans, I think you are reaching too much.
You are CORRECT when you say Drew has a venerated place but it’s not because he has not monetized. Not for me anyways. He has GOOD CONTENT. If he adds links, that’s fine.
But there is that slippery slope where you start to “fudge it” and, sadly, it has happened to almost all of the other previous Good Guys.
It’s not hatred…if people are not goose-stepping to support everything you like, are they your enemies? (“freedom fries”, anyone?) Why do you need to kick it up a level?
BTW, what are your credentials that you speak of?
I think Hans has a good point… after I googled the word “venerated”. It’s easier for me to say these other guys aren’t evil, than it is for them to say “we’re not evil”. For a number of reasons. And that’s largely the point.
Hans is THE Hans.
Yes, Drew is an absolute wizard on award routing rules and a number of other tricks and that certainly helps with his venerated status. His focus on content posts is wise and yielding long-term readership dividends. I did not intend to say his lack of monetization is the sole reason for his venerated status among the anti-blogger crowd.
bluecat, I don’t recall having seen you spew hate. Not patronizing blogs you feel are dishonest or post CC links too much is perfectly fine in anyone’s book and you won’t find me unhappy if you don’t support those blogs. What bothers me, like I’ve said, are those that do spew hate when they should just be skipping the extra posts.
As for credentials, I’ve leveraged credit cards to make a nice bundle of money by knowing all the CCs–even the obscure, off the radar cards–inside and out. (I’d rather not get more specific than that for obvious reasons: I’m not looking to spawn copycats or broadcast my income level, for instance.) Furthermore, I have zero financial relationship with any of the bloggers (I’ve not even claimed FTU travel reimbursements of out of pocket expenses when I’ve spoken at FTU) or banks and I get no financial or otherwise benefits from referring people to credit cards. But yet, despite no financial incentives, my recommendations to close friends mirrors that of the oft-criticized bloggers. So I get pretty upset when I hear them being called dishonest. False accusations really get me… unhappy. Especially when they’re against people that continue to provide excellent, free material to the community. My whole family of seven flew to Bangkok in LH F across only two flights (on the same day) because OMAT posted about wide open F space ex-YUL/YYZ, for instance. We also have tickets on DFW-FRA in AA F 7x on one flight (!!) because OMAT posted about it.
I am sympathetic to the complaint that bloggers pump out too great a volume of CC-posts. I’d rather that number was lower too. However, it’s a super-small sacrifice for me to skim those posts in 5 seconds compared to the value that their blogs add to my life and business. I am happy they’re able to make a living providing me with valuable info. Gary and Ben’s posts about award booking alone are worth skimming the extra CC posts. Life’s too short to complain about how precisely someone does me a favor. If they’re ever dishonest, I’ll be right there beside you shouting them down. But if it’s just the volume of posts you’re complaining about, then I have zero sympathy.
And I daily read DansDeals, FM, Fare Deal Alert, TFD, VFTW, OMAT, Upgrd Matthew, Cranky, MV, wandr.me, flightclub, RomsDeals, HMT, LoyaltyLobby, TIF, [redacted because I dislike his selfishness and don’t want to drive any traffic to him], Saverocity, Milenomics, PM&M, PointChaser, travel.bart.la, infamousdx, PointHacks, and a few others that post less frequently. I no longer read TPG, MMS, FTG, Mommy, or Deals We Like, because as someone said above, they’re news reporters rather than news breakers (and on the rare occasion they break something, one of the news breaker blogs will pick it up). I’ve also referred newbie friends to MMS posts because they’re so newbie-friendly. However, I occasionally review the blogs I don’t read regularly to check for ethics and honesty problems and I’ve never been able to find dishonest recommendations. Usually their CC recommendations are mostly in line with what I would recommend.
Of the blogs I regularly read above, two of them, IMO, do not have the best interests of their readers at heart. That includes the redacted one and one other (I’ve never heard this one criticized by the anti-blogger crowd). However, I continue to read because they provide breaking, valuable info. I just won’t trust it if those two blogs claim it’s the best deal out there.
Thanks, although I can’t say I’m hip enough to get pop culture references, nor have I watched television or movies in years… but I think there’s a compliment in there. 🙂
If you don’t have trolls on your website, then you don’t have a popular website. There are always going to be haters. I’d suggest you ignore them. But just keeping it real, points and miles blogosphere has changed big time in the last 18 months. Nowadays on MMS, you get your daily dose of not 1, nor 2, but at least 3 APPLY FOR INK PLUS CARD NOW!! posts. Every Friday there is another meaningless interview with some random person who collects points. And there are the weekly $25 Target GC giveaway. Blogger content originality and helpfulness is also at an all-time low. When a blogger posts a complaint about shredded lettuce being used in a salad and dramatizes it as if it’s end of the world, you know people are running out of things to write.
Nobody ever said bloggers should work for free, but there is a difference between being a pushy car salesman and being an informative and helpful Apple Store employee. MMS belongs in the former and FM (Frequent Miler) belongs in the second. I am more than happy to click on an affiliate link from FM because I feel he has contributed greatly that I should contribute back. I wouldn’t do the same for MMS.
I can’t say I get the lettuce comment, but I get the point that the internet will produce trolls. I’ll try to be mindful of that.
You have by far one of the most outstanding blogs out there. Bar none. Your blog is the one I look for every day to see if there’s a new article.
Yes, there are times people will say nasty things to you or about you. It comes with success; the ones who say those things are the losers in life who are so bitter that someone else is living better than they are. I’d say to ignore them. They want to upset you, it’s how they get off.
And so it comes to this,Drew. You and Carrie are amazing young people who contribute to this world community. I, for one, am very grateful for the information you have chosen to share. I want you to do well. And I plan on putting my $$ where my mouth is. When I do my next credit cards in November, I’m using your links. I see no conflict of interest in your making money from your work. Unless you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, you’ve got to earn money.
And one other thought…how about just hitting delete when the trolls post. I’d so do that if I were in your shoes. Someone hands you a sack of stinking garbage, no one says you’ve gotta take it. They post garbage…hit the delete key and save us all their nastiness.
Wow, thanks very much for the positive comment. Of course, I’m always happy to hear that people are benefiting for the content we produce.
The thing about deleting comments is that I sometimes benefit from the back and forth. I can’t say they are always wrong, even if I wish it were.
Truly thanks for the positive comment.
Drew
Who’s A Sell Out?
“Anyone who wants to benefit from someone and make sure they don’t make a living. Who gains from their hard work for years, and then hates them because they made money from it.”
This section makes no logical sense. Who did this person sell out to, mephistopheles? I have followed this space for many years. I don’t see hate. I have yet to meet/see anyone hating you, Lucky, Gary, MMS etc. I see folks having a discussion about the value of information and the direction of the hobby.
“Hate sells.” who’s been able to monetize hate in this space?
Of course these guys are “good” guys. So are most if not all salesfolks I’ve worked with and encountered. Assholes and douchebags have a harder time meeting their quota.
Hate sells. Doesn’t mean hate profits.
Selling hate at a loss?
Sadly haters rarely realize that those hated upon are losing far less than the haters themselves.
You only have to watch cable news to know that hate sells and only need to visit the comment stream of any news site to see that there’s no lack of those dishing hate for free.
So in my case, I mean to say that people who love/praise me when they can benefit from me, and then constantly complain or bad mouth me when it doesn’t benefit them. In this case, “sell out” is more figurative to say betrays what they were once an advocate of because of their personal agenda.
To me, your the best blogger when it comes to this hobby. Granted I have not been to all the bloggers sites. I may have started out following other sites but I glad to have stumbled onto Travel is free. It consistently has the best information. Stop worrying about others. I would gladly click on any link to support since you give out such useful information. Keep doing what your doing!!!
Also very glad you’ve stumbled over to travel is free. 🙂
Many thanks for the compliment and very glad if the information has been helpful.
I know I know, I try not to care.
At any rate thanks for the support and comment!
Drew
Excellent points being made in the comments. I want to just say that the people might be good but what they are selling is not. I am no expert in this yet I would never recommend a newbie friend to go to sites like MMS and FTG. There is definitely a line between recommendation and pimping and unfortunately many of the bloggers are on the other side.
I have definitely recommended newbies to MMS as he posts the best links and content he thinks will be helpful and nothing else.
Regardless the point here isn’t about which blogs are and aren’t selling out, it’s about the negativity once the blogs stop benefiting the reader.
Write what ever you want and include whatever you want to to generate revenue for yourself. I will continue to read, and greatly appreciate what you teach me. If it is not right for someone else, I think they should just go away quietly (or if they think they have a valid point and need to share it, send it privately to the blog owner.)
Andrew, thanks, this is truly a supportive comment. And it’s exactly my point. Too many readers are as fickle as the weather and it’s always seemed odd that they can love hate then love me again. lol
Anyways, I truly hope to live up to expectations and always generate great and useful content.
Drew –
In the words of one of our most important writers TS(not Elliott) “And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate
Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off ” Keep up the good work!!
lol, not Elliott. Thanks Dtodd!
Drew
One of the central examples given by the haters ATM is the over-sharing of the Ink Plus 70k offer. However, I think (of course) that they’re looking at it wrongly. It’s actually a great example… that shows their thesis is wrong. The thesis is that the bloggers push whatever gives the highest payout, not what gives the most benefit to the readers. So, I challenge the anti-affiliate crowd: What is the relative payout of the Ink Plus compared to a different card? Which card has a better bonus than the Chase Ink Plus 70k right now? Hint, the answers to those questions are “We don’t know.” and “Very few.” The Ink Plus links show us that the primary driver of blogger content *in this example* is actually the benefit of the readers.
Now I will say that the content the bloggers present is sometimes biased. But IME, it’s biased in non-harmful ways. Like pushing the Citi 2% card instead of the Fidelity 2% because they get commission from Citi. There’s no harm done to readers with that bias. When there is actually a conflict of interest, most bloggers will point it out and recommend the non-commissioned route for their readers, IME.
One thing the bloggers should have done better with in the 70k Ink Plus is to mention the refer a friend program more prominently among their many posts.
btw, I have only found a single blogger in this space who is truly and systematically biased against his readers in the sense that he does not offer the best deal to his readers and instead feeds them an affiliate link. He also deleted my comments pointing this out. I’ve never heard him criticized for that by the hater crowd (that’s not to say that he has not been).
However, even with his actual, substantive harmful bias toward his readers, I don’t hate him. I don’t rage against him. I’ve not embarked upon a campaign against him. I even, *gasp*, click on many of his affiliate links on purpose and purchase through them, in order to support the good work he does do.
You clicking on the affiliate links of a blog that “truly and systemically is biased against its readers and does not offer them the best deal other than an affiliate link…and deletes comments pointing this out” is totally bizarre imho.
And I have lost how many times you have mentioned the word hate in your comments here, wow!
My “hater crowd” (I find this so ridiculous it makes me….laugh so thanks!) criticizes businesses and business practices. A few sometimes do this personally which I have never agreed with and I will not delete comments. But, you know, there are blurry lines about blogs and bloggers…which will make a fascinating thesis I think.
And naming the names of these bloggers you mention would go a long way to help fellow readers reading this to avoid them in the future. I think doing this is beneficial to our “community”. But I think that will make you a hater and we just can’t have THAT.
#rolleyes
I love ya, TBB!
Some people don’t understand snark, and using snark to illuminate the absurdities and hypocrisy of situations.
And I have no problem naming names.
It is not hate. Making money off a blog means it is not longer a hobby but a business. And the blog is now held up to a business standard, just like Starbucks or the Marriott. With accountability practices expected by the consumer (in this case, readers).
Silence on a subject equates to acceptance and/or approval. There are certain situations where having “good manners” is detrimental to society. We are now labelling people for pointing out inaccuracies as “haters.”??
So those wanting a higher minimum wage are economic “haters” ? Those that want clean water are industry “haters”? Really, how absurd.
Business bloggers that present themselves as travel “experts” have a responsiblity to their clients (readers). If one doesn’t understand that, then don’t have a business. That isn’t “hate”; that’s accountability.
No replies here?
I guess we all agree here that we love your blog! Everyone in Chicago treated you wonderfully (as they should), keep in mind you are a Rock Star/King of Content to all. ………….BTW….How do you feel about PRETENTIOUS bloggers who use their bully pulpit to complain about petty inconveniences that occur during their travels, often putting people’s jobs at risk?
Or Ingy’s contribution to job losses at Suntrust on Hilton Head Island.
Can’t say I followed the unfortunate ordeal, but he didn’t do it out of greed but to help others. I’m sure he wouldn’t have wanted anyone fired. And if I recall he made large donations to the staff who got fired. Which… he wouldn’t have had to do but he did. Nice guy.
I disagree.
Those actions directly led to staff losing their jobs and their livelihood.
Posting phone numbers and names should have never been done. But I am sure that higher website traffic came before trying to be helpful and responsible.
One of the DARKEST moments in this “hobby”.
Ramsey… you were at Chicago?
I don’t like complaining about staff failures, people are human. I actually do hate that. lol
How does one send a digital hug? #PostOfTheYear!
pardon me while I Barf
Thanks Rene. Accepted for sure.
I have lots to say but got a soccer game tonight, showdown between my team (Gasping For Air) and Domino Men. Winner gets bronze. And then I need to pack for a trip.
@Kenny who said “The best thing about TBB as well as this post (and others like it) is the conversation they generate.”
Bingo! I just hate it when it does not happen on my site so I can sell it bwahahahahahhaaha.
The one thing everyone is missing here is that Drew TIF has had affiliate credit card links! Heck, I’ ve been sending readers here for a long time and I have used them myself! Most bloggers have them and some you would never know it unless you actively looked for them! And then there are some who would pump their readers until they are blue in the face!
One other point that is being thrown out so often that is ridiculous. I don’t hate anybody (okay, I strongly dislike two bloggers). HATE is a ridiculous WORD to use. I love everyone (except those two bloggers hehe). And please stop with the “angries” term. Another ridiculous term to perpetuate to justify VALID arguments for business practices.
@HansGolden: This space has become a big business. I review blogs that are BUSINESSES. STOP making it personal Hans! I disagree with so much of what you have written I just don’t have the time to prove it to you. Just read some of my reader Steve’s Gem Comments 🙂 We should have had more time to chat in the Ann Arbor Art Fair, maybe the next one!
People, when you say, “good job, keep it up”…in a way, it hurts! For bloggers to keep going and make this a viable endeavor doing it without credit cards is as impossible as the Detroit Lions making it to the Superbowl. Whenever I see this and look at what my Amazon link and Ad site has brought in I want to stab myself. I prefer a simple “I like your blog” and just stop there 🙂
Anyways, I am perfectly fine with the three lists I have made: Love, Like and Ignore. It’s a way to deal with the present realities of how my hobby has devolved into a frenzied credit card sales frenzy.
So, as I have always said, please try to support bloggers who add value to your life. And be informed! And be kind. And speak up when you see something that you do not agree with so others can learn from it.
I probably should stop and pimp my Big Crumbs link like some other “expert” did today…
I enjoyed reading the comments here, I think others can learn from them! And I have cringed on some of them. The previous sentence was NOT angry by the way, it was self-expression.
Just in….The 70k Chase Ink Plus offer has been extended! Psyche lol.
Please don’t stab yourself, George.
George, when you’re questioning people’s integrity, it’s always personal. And it should be that way too. If their integrity in the way they post is compromised, it reflects directly on their character as a person. Maybe you’ve not made that implicit (if not explicit) connection from your posts and other anti-blogger comments, but many of us have. Some of us also read these blogs and see them behaving with complete integrity. Then it becomes slander and libel and we get angry, especially since they’re providing such a service to our community.
Yes, I’m well aware they’re a business. Amazon is a business too. And I understand that, I factor it in as I evaluate Amazon. They’re there to make money. I’m fine with that. That doesn’t change the fact that I’m a big fan because they provide such good, mutually beneficial service to their clients. If someone would start to question their integrity in ways that contradict my experience, I would speak up and defend them too.
It feels like you think this is a zero sum game. It’s not. When Amazon’s Suggested Products algorithm hits yet another home run and suggests a product I want to buy, both Amazon and I benefit. When a blogger trumpets the Ink 70k offer, I and thousands of their readers benefit alongside the blogger.
What frustrates me is I can never get anyone to have a fact-based discussion with me on this. When I start giving facts, quotes, and links and asking for the same from the anti-blogger community, everyone runs.
I see a number of *types* of complaints from the anti-blogger crowd. I’ll list a few of them in descending order of volume, as I hear it. Please revise and expand as necessary.
1. Bloggers post too often about credit cards
2. Bloggers are dishonest and push the wrong credit cards or inferior affiliate links; bottom line, they give bad advice to their readers
2a. Bloggers do #1 for lesser CCs and newbies who only read occasionally don’t have full picture of actual ranking of CCs and thus apply for lame cards before awesome cards
3. Bloggers censor comments that point out they’re wrong
I think it’s critical to break it down into specifics and give examples of those specifics. Far too often, all criticisms are illogically lumped–annoyances are conflated with dishonesty–and the result is a very subjective stew that is hard to fairly and objectively analyze.
#1 – I have no sympathy on this. I know you’re a fee-only financial adviser, so you have a very different perspective than many on this. The bloggers I read provide valuable content to me for free (I’ve given concrete examples of this above in previous comments) and the least I can do is spend an extra 30 seconds per day scrolling past the “ad posts” that seem excessive. It’s no different than watching TV or listening to the radio. If it really bothers you so much and you think the time you lose skimming/skipping the ads is more valuable than the value you get from the posts/content, stop watching, listening, and reading! It’s that simple.
For #2, if I caught any blogger that I regularly read doing this, I would rip them a few extra ones. I have been asking for years for examples of this by the bloggers I defend as not doing this. I’ve not received a single example. It’s a matter of faith among the anti-blogger community that this happens all the time. However, I’ve been unable to find examples of this. I would be willing to state with a high degree of certainty that VFTW, OMAT, and FM do not do this. They’re the three bloggers that I pay close attention to on the credit card front and whose referral links I tend to use. However, I welcome examples of this beyond them. Please, provide me with links and quotes.
#2a is usually what’s resorted to after an anti-blogger fails to give examples of #2. However, the blogs I checked all have decent newbie CC summary guides, prominently linked from all pages, that rank the CCs in an honest way. Please point me to one that doesn’t.
#3 – I’m 100% against this. Please provide examples of this. If I know the blogger and have a relationship with them, I’ll send them an email chewing them out. I write blog comments making corrections to posts all. the. time. I would be very unhappy if I found my comments were being deleted. (In fact, of the two travel blogs on my don’t-trust list, one of them arrived there after he deleted my comment pointing out that readers could earn cashback through BigCrumbs instead of clicking through directly on his affiliate link. I suggested in the comment that he update his post. He emailed me telling me he didn’t want to give people that option and that it would just confuse them.) OTOH, I’ve often seen blog posts updated with non-affiliate links if a commenter points out a superior offer.
Please give some examples and links of 2, 2a, and 3 above. Please also give me any more types of complaints I missed.
Hans,
TBB blog reviews blogs. Its mission is to Entertain. Educate. And Inspire. In that order.
I have already spend 4 hours on a Gem comments post so there is no time to respond to your specific questions. Many examples/links have been provided in my blog by “my crowd”. You can post your questions there if you like 🙂
I have never hidden the fact that I abhor selling/pumping practices. Yes I am biased against it….can’t help it dude.
By the way, I met one of your cousins in Charlotte!
Um, Hans.
Points, Miles, and Martinis has censored me.
And I can prove it.
I’m not a “hater”. Stupidity just offends me.
My big regret from Chicago Seminars this weekend was not meeting you – yours is one of my favorites of all the blogs. Weirdly, yours came to my attention from FlyertalkerinA2. And I was just talking to my husband last night about this topic and the fact that it’s not fair for anyone to expect you guys to do a full-time job for free. Upshot – I’m on your side.
Bummer. Why didn’t you say hi? Regardless, glad you found us here online.
Thanks rstlsgirl, I appreciate the kind words!
I can think of a few things to do than go back to Chicago. I was there for the first two. That Nightline TV crew was just a bit much 🙂
I actually offered to FTG to have a pie throwing contest at both our faces to raise money for charity…but he was afraid…very afraid 🙂
I think that people like to feel a sense of relationship with the bloggers they read. When a blogger writes well, is personal, interactive, and says things that seem useful, then the reader feels a sense of relationship with the blogger, even when they don’t know them nor have even ever met them. Relationships like this are not too different from, say, ones you create with a bartender or a hair dresser, or someone else you see regularly and have a regular, positive interaction with but wouldn’t necessarily consider quite a “friend.” I think many of us feel this way about travel bloggers we like. The content surely makes a difference, but it’s the feeling of connection that makes the biggest difference. We care not just what they know, but about their opinion, their experience. As with the tips and referrals we give a bartender or hairdresser we like, we give bloggers our time, attention, comments, and feedback; we click their affiliate links, share our own advice, and we refer our friends to their sites. This is not nothing; it’s social capital. But what if we began to feel our bartender was trying to get us to drink more than we liked, or the hair dresser was trying to upsell us some expensive shampoo we didn’t need? What if we witnessed them doing it to others? We might start not to simply back off from those people, but actively feel betrayed in some manner. It would, of course, matter how they did it, whether we felt we needed or wanted what they were selling, whether they kept trying over and over. It would depend on how much we started to feel the relationship had shifted from personal to merely transactional or even feeling used. Because it’s about a relationship, whether we were thinking of it that way or not. With travel bloggers, I think many readers feel that sort of relationship. This is especially true when the readership is small and interactive. Once the readership grows, people can begin to feel less special. Posts that seemed helpful to you a year ago now seem trite, dull, or cynical. Why are you bothering with noobs? Don’t you want to post stuff for a vet like me whose been around with you this long? And if the blogger evolves and seems more and more disengaged, more rote in presentation, more bent on selling that credit card, then there is a greater likelihood that people will feel turned off and, yes, hurt, betrayed, and angry. A hater. It’s not that the reader thinks the blogger has no right to make money or that the reader wants “something for free.” What they wanted is the relationship to feel authentic, or as authentic as it can in the online sphere. But if the relationship starts to feel false – as it has done for many vets who continue to peak in on successful travel bloggers (such as MMS) – then there is a movement toward skepticism, resentment, and even spite. That too is human, and maybe it’s sad, but I don’t think it’s “selling out.”
Oh, crap, you NAILED it!
Great summary of the “blogger-reader” relationship! You should submit to New York Times or Esquire…(and Im not joking)
Steve,
Your comment is a GEM of a comment, wow!
Spot on…I think you may have written the comment of the year! It’s definitely a fine line for bloggers to walk but it is something experienced by anyone who becomes popular and/or famous. It’s all in how you manage that public “relationship” and the choices that are made especially after hitting a point of critical mass. People being human, they will sometimes make bad decisions but the better ones who care about their credibility learn to adapt. Just look at the movie and music industries – countless people have their rise and fall, while others are able to remain consistent. Bloggers are no different. If it was easy, we’d all be saints and there would be no reality or tabloid TV LOL
Wow, nice analysis.
Drew, I think Steve’s post does a good job of explaining the love/hate you were pondering about in your post .
Very insightful Steve.
Excellent comment on how our emotions can overrule logic on this issue.
I guess I’ve been insulated and blind to this because I continue to have a personal relationship with many of the bloggers. I realize that the emotion of those relationships can blind me and cause me to be illogical in the opposite direction too. However, I have cut off a relationship with one blogger because I felt he was not presenting the best offer to his readers.
I think this gives the secret to the greater loyalty of readers of OMAT and a few others where the primary blog author continues to personally respond to 95% of comments, even patiently answering OT newbie questions.
I think you’re right on with this post and I agree with almost everything you’ve said.
Not that my annual “Travel Summary Awards” are representative of anything, but there’s a reason why readers voted you as “Best Travel Hacker of 2013” by a wide margin last year.
Keep up the fantastic work. I truly learn more from you than anyone else.
Also I can’t believe that anyone would hate Stefan (Rapid Travel Chai) for anything. Not only is his blog different and interesting, but he’s such a nice guy!
Thanks George.
George?! The name is Omar! I hope you didn’t just confuse me with TBB…
Haha, that’s funny. I thought it was TBB.
I just responded to his other comments so… I thought the “I agree with everything you said” was about my reply.
Bummer I didn’t get his conceding, but glad to hear from you! Hope all is well, and appreciated the link on: http://travelsummary.boardingarea.com/buy-virgin-america-points-for-2-89-cents-each-today-only-until-5pm-est/
Hope to retake my crown for 2014!
Most folks don’t begrudge bloggers affiliate dollars; better the banks pay y’all to produce content than me. But there are two instances where I do have a problem with the effects of monetization:
1) Profiting individually from community-generated content. Folks share this content under an implicit license that others will likewise share in-kind. Individual rent-seeking discourages future content sharing.
2) Bad advice. Encouraging crappy redemptions or subpar credit card offers for your own benefit iss just being a shitty person. Oh, and will someone tell Rene that math is not subjective.
That makes sense and those are good reasons to stop reading a blog.
I just have to put in a word about the Points Guy after the comment about him not breaking any news. He is the first with a lot of news and was the first one I remember (of those that I follow) that broke the Citi AA 100k offer. He also takes on Delta and other brands, which is the opposite of selling out – that adds credibility. Every blogger has a different style – I am very appreciative for the choices we have and by following several we will be very informed. Thanks to all bloggers out there, I haven’t paid for a flight since 2011 except through a few credit card annual fees and the opportunity of lost cash back. I’m sure there are a few people out there saying, “how does that family of three take a flight somewhere every month???” Ok now I’m rambling, but again thanks.
Thanks for the comment. Glad you’ve been able to get free flights for 3 years now. Now to avoid those annual fees. 🙂
TBB reviews blogs, and does so in an entertaining way. He doesn’t hate writers of “bad” blogs any more than a movie critic hates the directors of movies they criticize. I don’t always agree with him, but I value his perspective. I do think some of his readers take him too seriously.
TBB doesn’t condemn anyone for occasionally including an affiliate link in an article; he actually encourages it in moderation. It is the blatant pumping of cards that he rails against, especially when bloggers write posts that serve no purpose other than to embed a bunch of links (often to mediocre card offers).
I agree that FTG was once the best miles/points/travel blog, and it is probably what got me into the miles/points game. But now, it is a terrible blog. The current writers there are probably nice people, but the content is useless. I don’t fault Rick for “selling out”; I just read other blogs now.
Nailed it Jed! Email me so we can arrange it for you to finally be First! 🙂
Nah, I want to get First the honest way.
That’s a good attitude to have. Although TBB is currently praising a blog post that’s entirely anti me as a blogger. So it’s hard to feel that there isn’t an us vs the bloggers thing that is falsely being generated.
Hey Drew,
I’ve been reading the blog for a while now. I’ve saved a LOT of your posts and reference them often. Don’t know if I’ve ever formally thanked you on here for making all those maps with the hotel categories – wow! That must’ve taken you forever!
I have a tiny blog but would totally post an affiliate link if the readership were to grow. So I get it. I do think you’ve maintained a good relationship with your readers as you’ve grown (I don’t think your tone is too casual, btw, as someone else said). I’d totally use your affiliate link to apply for a card. It would be a least I could do for all the knowledge I’ve gained from you.
It’s hard to be you and to be a brand at the same time. But really man, just keep doing what you’re doing.
And thanks for all the wonderful content!
Cheers,
Harlan
Thanks Harlan, very glad some posts have been helpful enough to save and what not. Hopefully there are many more to come!
Somewhat disagree with this post for a core reason.
You seem to miss the underlying reason why these people have a bad rep. You simply state ‘people said they were bad, and I believed them, but it turns out they were fun to be around’.
The focus needs to be not on the people who said they were bad, nor on how fun these people are in real life, but the underlying factual reason for them being considered bad. Is it just that Buzz said so, or did he say so because they did a number of things that seemed exploitative?
Making money from blogging is a very delicate subject – ultimately you build up a reputation and rapport and you sell based on that. When it becomes a ‘sell out’ based on that is when you purport to be a friend and advisor, but you then go on to censor comments or make threats to people to protect your income.
Simply putting in links to make a living is fine for me – but when you pretend to be the readers friend, and then intentionally slip in inferior links, and go on to delete all reference to them, you are really betraying that trust.
Now, the people who do that and then go on to be nice to your face, aren’t the type of people I would want to call friends.
Importantly, I am not saying that I believe any of the people you listed in this post are actually doing that, but I believe that is some of the root of the general ‘anger’ out there.
Though I also think some people are just internet trolls too, and they like to bash on things.
I actually agree with you, and actually get that. However, regardless of whether or not those things are true, I feel they become demonized or made unhuman and the battle becomes an us vs them. And I feel somehow MMS gets thrown into that group a lot when he doesn’t slip in inferior links, at least not on purpose. But someone has to be an enemy. My point is that we’re all human, and I refuse to have enemies.
I think a lot about the issue of affiliate links and how it compromises content, and have set out not to do that. But I stand by everything I said about the people and make no claims or cares about the how people run their blogs/businesses.
I think it funny Drew that you are defending MMS.
He is the guy that paid you to ghost write a series on Lufthansa and didn’t he claim that he did all the work, right?
LOL!
Trust me, he’s a good guy. He’s done no wrong to me, and it’s a bit sad that people confused the situation for something it wasn’t.
Hi Drew,
Sorry if my English is bad since it’s not my 1st language. Just wanted to say thank you for all ur efforts on your site. I know u mention Rick as the guy that started you on this whole mile thing, for me it’s Drew! If it wasn’t you, this mile game would never ever start for me. Thank you so much for everything you did and trying your best to teach us all.
Thanks Sara, that’s really encouraging for me. It’s also just good to know that newbies can survive the travelisfree content. Very grateful to have you reading.
I am one of the silent majority who has been reading your blog for a long time. I appreciate your content and therefore I check your blog every day and I try to use your links whenever possible. Like most of us in this hobby, I read multiple blogs, and I find them useful for different things. I read some to learn the best credit card offers (MMS is still my go-to blog for this), some for earning points in other ways (Frequent Miler, anyone?), and some for information on how to best use my miles and points (your blog and Milevalue are at the top of this list). So please keep up the good work!
Rachel, thanks so much for commenting, just to give your support. Truly appreciate it. Hope it continues to be a good resource for you!
Drew
You have turned into an angry old man over the past year or so, this is on way to gain respect and communicate with good people.
Sorry, you’ve gotten that impression, as that wasn’t the goal here. If anything it was based out of really liking people and at this event hearing people bad mouth people I know who are really good people. I just wanted to defend people I think are good people against people who seem senselessly angry and have an us vs them attitude.
I don’t have that attitude. Sorry if that came across though.
please ignore all the haters and trolls on the internet. they have nothing better to do than complain about everything. I love your site as it is waay more informative than others with less links to referrals.
Thanks John, I appreciate the positive feedback, and hope it continues to be informative for you.
I really like your blog. But.
I have several other hobbies, and I read blogs associated with them as well. Those blogs are written by people who also _love_ the hobby, and for the most part they do it for free. Maybe a little Amazon link here and there. But in essence, it’s for the love of the hobby. I’d say about 1% of the freq. flyer blogs feel the same. They are pushing and pimping. They are businesses. I know I’m in the minority, but I do not want to read a blog that functions primarily a business. I want to read a blog that comes from the love of the hobby. If you want to make some money, go work for Charles Schwab or grab a job hawking pharmaceuticals. Again, I know i’m in the minority here. But I don’t think blogs should be about selling shit. It’s like those “fake” articles in magazines that are really advertisements, with the little disclaimer in fine print up top. We all know they are ads. And no one fucking reads them. Because they are lame ass corporate douche-baggery. That’s how I feel about blogs that are there to sell shit.
You openly don’t want blogs to make money, they should go to work for a bank. But you realize that many blogs work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week for your benefit? I do, and I know many others do.
Drew,
Keep up the great work man. I keep up with 20 or so different travel/CC blogs, but yours is by far my favorite. I really appreciate all the work you put into your research and original content, and I daily look forward to reading your new posts. Thanks so much!
Thanks Sterling, glad some of the hard work is appreciated/noticed. Hope it continues to be as useful for you, and I will try my best to do so.
I just want to say thank you for providing so much value and unique ideas to the community! I’ve been in this hobby for four year and you literally provide the most unique insights. The amount of time you spend thinking outside of the box really shows up in your posts and I appreciate how you are really advancing this area. Keep up the good work and thank you!!
Thanks Eric, for just saying thanks. Super appreciated, and encouraging. I hope the hard work pays off for me and the readers.
You have a great blog, I appreciate the content and appreciate that TBB mentioned it because it truly is beneficial. I do think it is important to make the distinction between a blogger’s personality and their behavior and/or business practices… I once had a very personable landlord who was always chatty and full of great jokes. He appeared to be a kindhearted individual and I believed that he was a responsible and professional landlord.
Unfortunately, despite his personable demeanor, he turned out to be a bit of a slumlord. He and his chosen billing company were found by the city where I lived to have been participating in deceptive billing practices, among other more serious issues. I had notified the landlord that my unit and the hall leading to my unit laked smoke detectors, but multiple requests to have them installed went ignored. Eventually, there was a fire on a different floor — and requests for smoke detectors still went ignored. Finally, a complaint to the city resulted in an inspection and the discovery that not only were the required smoke detectors missing, but the entire unit was illegal. It had been converted without any permits or updates to the property records.
I realize that you may have had some cordial interactions with some well known bloggers, but please don’t lose perspective or let your content be driven by the referral bonus. Just look at the templates, how the content changes once bloggers lose and regain Amex links, and the predictable results of the FTG card selector tool. The affiliate offers are wagging the proverbial dogs and it has resulted in an ongoing degradation of content where the Ink is pumped to death and the Arrival or some other CC is the predictable solution to any possible travel dilemma.
You’re better than that — please don’t let the warm greetings or outward friendliness detract from the behavior of so many of the bloggers turned affiliate marketers.
Please judge my content by my content. My friends are still my friends.
Your blog has really become the best due to content while most others look like the inside of a Tokyo subway car. I have been living similarly to how you and Carrie do on the road/air/sea etc. the past 2-3 years and have not looked back. I work from my laptop when I can/ when I have to as well and I know that it can be alot of work to post something every day as its nice to have semi normal weekends every now and again. All of my physical belongings are worth less than the ticket I am about to fly on, including lots of electronics and an older Xterra I keep in the US, and its because of miles. This will be my first time ‘paying’ fuel surcharges, but how else would a 25 year old in need of some new clothing with only a backpack travel from tokyo to new zealand? Through singapore in first class? YUP
Keep the content coming, we don’t need posts every day. I would much rather have 1 great post a week then 3 so-so ones and 4 ones pumping the arrival card. The whole work by day/by hour thing is a thing of the past, work smart and people will keep coming back.
DO continue to get affiliate links and have them on a separate page everyone can click to support your blog. You must have 1000s of readers easily and most of us will make a point to click your links and persuade others to do the same. The ma and pa type business that grows through word of mouth could do wonders in this blog-industry. If your site turns into a Tokyo subway car people will think its the same as all the others.
Cheers!
Thanks Mike. Super cool to hear of another 20-something full time traveler. Maybe see ya around. Appreciate the support and the comment.
“You’re better than that — please don’t let the warm greetings or outward friendliness detract from the behavior of so many of the bloggers turned affiliate marketers.”
I think Hua’s great comment (above)speaks for how a lot of us feel.
I’m not writing about people’s blogs, but the people. And so no… I’m not going to detract from someones friendliness because of their blog. I’m more concerned about that person than their blog.
And for your reading enjoyment here is Mile Nerd’s rant on this rant 🙂
http://www.milenerd.com/2014/10/why-bloggers-suckat-rants/
Darnyou US Air canceling my flight and putting me on a CRJ window seat in the last row! Ok, that’s enough of this rant, no pics will follow lol.
Wow, incredibly insulting towards me. Why are you sharing this here George? It’s just… flat insulting.
The thing about that mile nerd post is that it would be funny if it wasn’t directed at a real person… a real person who it seems to bear no resemblance to. It’s actually a really good example of what Drew is talking about, when internet personalities are real people, the hate just isn’t funny anymore.
I am sorry you found it insulting. I thought it would contribute to the discussion going on here. I understand there was a follow up to it. If I shared that too you may find that insulting too so I won’t.
Well written post, Drew. I think that you become a better writer and more thoughtful with each post. What you talk about – the humanization of online personas – is an interesting phenomenon that happens when you meet people in real life. Some people give you stronger affinities in person, while others may have stronger and/or more abrasive personalities than you expected. I know that this has completely changed my perceptions of some bloggers for the positive and negative as a result of in person meetings.
I also owe a lot to some of the top bloggers for many reasons – advice, ideas, and even research for my own trips. I referred to an MMS post about 10 times while researching overwater bungalows in Moorea. TPG was the only source I could find about Mauritius several years ago. They provided me with real value in exchange for creating their own value.
Heck, I’m now contemplating taking a scuba/snorkeling trip to Raja Ampat because I saw a picture of it in an Indonesian hopper article on some obscure blog about free travel. Because I value ideas and insights into travel, I used the affiliates from your blog to get my next round of cards/signup bonuses.
Good post by you, I wish you good fortune in the future, and just keep on writing about what is interesting to you. Surrounding yourself with negative people will make you a negative person on a long enough timeline, so don’t let them influence you for the positive OR negative. It also was comforting for me to read that even the mighty Drew will get comments from readers pointing out errors in posts.
If all else fails, just rename the blog “Travel is Freebird” – Everyone loves the song Freebird.
Thanks Jeff, means a lot coming from you. And great points as well.
If I rebrand the blog and blow up over night, will I owe you anything?
If you rebrand and take over the Internet, the only payment I need is to be able to say “I knew him back when…”
Well, Drew, you are so right…again! I LOVE your blog and your honesty. I have followed you from the beginning and I now owe my new career as a travel agent to you, my friend! I had my own successful coupon blog and could not believe how different the travel blog world was compared to the couponing one. Travel was fierce and people DID want something for nothing…even more than the couponers! I felt sorry for all of the blogs that were attacked and I was so thankful that the coupon blog readers were so grateful. Maybe they just don’t know that bloggers make money when you print the coupons they show? Anyhow, you are fantastic and I enjoy everything about your blog. You do what you have to and let the others just talk…I think most of them are just jealous anyway. In the meantime, I will continue playing the points game and rely on my travel agent knowledge for the rest! God bless! 🙂 Erin
Erin, great as always to hear from you and your new adventure. Best of luck to you and as always, let me know if I can ever help.
Drew
no disclosure that you and MMS had a financial relationship (i.e. you wrote for that site?)
regardless of what you think of rene as a person, i’d be interested in what you think of his blog. judge him based on that merit…. and he may be a nice person in real life, but on FT he acts like an internet bully and a troll. check out his posts on the external blog forum.
having been to a few of these seminars before i quit going to them, i got the impression that the bloggers were a clique, and acted very aloof and what not when i was there. they were chummy amoungst eachother in a country club kinda way. “So and so is such a nice guy, you should never call out his blog for misinfo, bc really he’s a great person”… sounds like more of the same
James, I actually think you may have some good points in here, but allow me to respond from my perspective.
1) I 100% have no financial relationship with MMS, and therefore can no way shape or form benefit from MMS. Period.
2) I’ve said that I’ve never even had a single Delta peso, thus I’ve never read his blog. No offense of course, plus I’m not much of a reader, so I don’t really read any blogs really. But the main point here, has nothing to do with people’s blogs, it’s that there are a person. I don’t want to judge people by their online blog, their online persona, or their online reputation ever again.
3) If there is a country club, I’m not in it, that’s for sure. And I’m okay with that. I won’t deny that I’ve had the same thought, but it’s okay. I actually brought it up to Stefan once, and he said two things. First, that many of them are actually serious serious introverts. So they prefer to stick to who they know, I guess. And also, they do see each other a lot and have a bond. So I trust him and don’t worry about it.
Either way, my main point is not to worry about it, and it doesn’t mean that they aren’t nice people. Sometimes as an extravert it’s hard for me to get as they seem uninterested, but people are just people. And that’s the point here.
Thanks,
Drew
The fundamental problem in the frequent flyer blogging world is that the only way to really make a living off it is bombarding folks with credit card affiliate links — nothing else can really pay the bills. Of course, readers may be better served by skilled “hobbiest bloggers” and not “making a living at it” bloggers. You could argue that “making a living” bloggers have more incentive to work hard and develop useful content because they can devote more time to it. On the other hand, hobbiest bloggers are doing it because they love it and don’t have their perspective skewed by the never-ending search for dinero.
Personally, I’m hoping that the credit card issuers realize that these point blogs are not good places to sign up customers (because most of the customers reading theses blogs are unprofitable customers — gamers) and the “big money” train ends. I think the blogs are more useful when it’s about the hobby first, and the money is small enough that it doesn’t control your content. I know that’s not what you want to hear if you are a blogger making a living at this, but I do think it would be the best outcome for the “points community.”
Well, I can’t say I completely disagree with you, but I’ll say two things.
1) Clearly Greg from FM can make a living without giving a darn about credit card folk. You should of heard him tell them at the boardingarea conference during a Q&A that he would never comply with their new dumb rules. Made my week. Kind of off topic though…
and 2) You’ll have a LOT less blogs to benefit from when that happens. 😀
Yes, I agree with you that FrequentMiler is a shining beacon of light among the points bloggers. I guess it would be interesting to know how his blogging income compares to “lesser lights” who monetize first and worry about content and ethics second. I think very, very few bloggers could “make a living” the way FM does (assuming he does), but this would not necessarily be a bad thing. I mean, how many points bloggers do we need? I’d say 5 to 10 would be plenty. BTW, I think you’d also make the cut!
Ok I’ll tackle this point by point
1) Anyone who says you’re a sellout is an idiot. Selling out isn’t having ads or affiliate links – it’s having the content of your blog being driven by the affiliate links and ads. Which describes most of BoardingArea, TPG, FTG, MMS etc. It does not describe you – you provide the content, and in the rare times an affiliate is relevant to the content, you include it. That’s the way it SHOULD be
2) No clue why you brought up being nice – it’s completely irrelevant to the discussion of whether they’re a sellout. DeltaPoints can be a nice guy, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s a sellout if he’s pumping inferior links
3) To pretend bloggers content (especially, but not limited to MMS) didn’t change is farcical. You’re assertion that the content is the same as it always had been would probably be taken more seriously if it wasn’t said after MMS, TPG, MP, VFTW etc. didn’t just spend the past 3 weeks manufacturing news day after day as an excuse to pimp the 70K ink offer. I suspect your judgement is clouded by the fact that FTG, MMS and others have and possibly do still pay you for your work
4) Even when Buzz was defending MMS, he was on an island on that one in his blog. And yes, his content has fallen off since then. He used to be a crappy blog. Now he’s a crappy blog whose content is entirely driven by the banks and self promotion (remember when “kissing up to MMS” wasn’t a requirement to be in the Friday interview series?)
And I’ll echo what others above have said – hopefully this post isn’t the precursor to turning into another MileValue
There was a time when he was also putting up rockstar content, and made a post similar to this. Now he’s relegated to pretending that the Arrival and US Airways cards are the greatest inventions in history.
Please let this post be nothing more than a weak attempt at defending obvious sellouts in the blogosphere (and i refuse to believe you don’t realize that) because you like them at a personal level or are employed by them. It would suck to lose you to MileValue syndrome
Please don’t judge my blog on outside sources but of my own content. That is only fair to me.
I personally think I’ve been finding my blogger content stride and am better than other. But if you don’t feel so, I’m sorry. But again, judge by my content and not reading between the lines and predicting crap. That’s all ask, Ya know?
1) Thanks.
2) The entire point is actually about the people not the blogs.
3&4) I never say that any bloggers haven’t changed. I’m not arguing that one way or another. My main point is that MMS was praised for full disclosure, and now people on TBB talk about him as if he’s some dangerous shark. But he’s not, he only posts best links and what he thinks is good for his readers. He really does care about the well being of his readers. Whether or not you like his content is an issue that I’m addressing in this post at all.
“He really does care about the well being of his readers.”
How do you know? Why do you say this? (Because he is nice to you in person???) How well do you really know the guy? If you haven’t hung out with him a lot, then I doubt you are qualified to say this about him.
I read Steve’s post once TBB pointed to it and I think that is the feedback for you. Even though I don’t know you I trust you as a reader and have a belief you will not present bad advice for personal gain. It is very difficult to gain this trust when people know that you financial incentive to do otherwise. People like MMS, TPG might not be ‘sellouts’ but they have lost this connection.
I agree it is a great comment, and I truly truly hope to live up to any trust I have gained about continue to grow in quality of content. I want 2015 to be even better than ’14.
I really don’t understand the haters and the trolls on the internet. If you don’t like the site – just stop visiting it.
As for travel and miles blogs, I think most occasionally have something to offer. Some more so than others. I’ve never met any of the bloggers, so cannot say whether they’re nice/good people or not. I hope they are … but that’s not why I read their blogs.
Affiliate links don’t bother me. If I find a post that seems nothing more than a reason to push a credit card, I just ignore it and move on. Yet, I do try to reward those bloggers who provide useful information by clicking on their links after I do my own due diligence and decide to apply for a card.
I agree Ron. I don’t have to read anything I don’t want to read!
I have always used affiliated links to credit bloggers whom I think deserve the recognition. Both George and Gary were ones I have used.
If only one blogger makes money from blogging, that should be Drew, period.
Most importantly, I think the values of blogs/bloggers are the content, integrity and unbiasedness.
Thanks much Mia for the very high compliment, and as well for the feedback. I truly to aim for goodness in all three on your list. Heck, I should make that our mantra.
Content, integrity and unbiasedness.
Thanks,
Drew
Why don’t we look at an analogy…I am a tax consultant. I defend/support clients during state tax audits. Let’s say, to supplement my income, I started getting a kick-back from the state for every dollar I got for them. Would this be beneficial to my client? Absolutely not! Would this be ethical? Heck no! I have to have my client’s best interest in mind and I cannot do that if I have a relationship with the state that supports financial gain. This is a conflict of interest. Easy enough.
The thing is, as Hans points out above, the Ink Plus might be pushed more often, but not because it pays the most, but probably because it’s best for the readers. It’s totally not in conflict. At the end of the day the blogs that do whats best for the readers will probably get shared and last longer… one hopes at least.
Have to disagree with the Hans/Ink comment too. The Ink pays good money and it converts well due to the attractive bonus. It puts it into that supply/demand sweetspot for pushing.
I have links that pay $500 per conversion, but I don’t put them in every post, others have links that pay $5 and they are everywhere.
It’s a balance.
But I think it’s fair to say that affiliate revenue drive the content- if you look at how many posts from people who make money from the card vs how many do not, it’s quite evident.
I completely disagree that since it is the best card for the readers it is not a conflict of interest. Continuing with my original analogy, there are many times during an audit when the state proposes a settlement and often times the settlement is best for my client. They may choose this option instead of wasting time and money fighting it out in court. Let’s say the state offers to compensate me if a settlement is reached. This is the best option for my client so I accept. Since it was the best option for my client, there was no conflict of interest, right? WRONG! There is still a conflict of interest.
Of course, it would be nice to double-dip and make some extra side money but in the real world you have to decide who you work for. Who is your client? Of course, it is completely fine to decide that you want to work for the state and sometimes people make this transition. However, once they decide to work for the state they are no longer allowed to represent the client. And, of course, we call them a traitor (or sell-out).
People are free to make as much money as they possibly can; however, these bloggers definitely work for the banks – not us – so please don’t be so naive.
If you work for the state, you call yourself an auditor. If you work for the client, you can yourself a consultant. What make these bloggers disgusting and undeserving of respect is that they falsely represent themselves as consultants to the travel hacking community when truly they are salesmen for the banks.
Of course the bloggers have a conflict of interest. Almost every sales role in the world does. How the salesman handles that conflict of interest is what’s important. They can do it with either selfishness or integrity. In the case of the bloggers I see, they do it with full disclosure and full integrity. They disclose which links make them money and they are quick to offer links that are better for readers even if it offers them no commission. That’s a step very few salesmen ever take: sending them to the “competition” if the salesman cannot sell them the best product possible. Usually most salesmen will find something that’s at least a rough fit that they can make money on. Sending them to the competition while still painstakingly answering newbie questions about how to use the competitors’ product? That kind of customer-focused service is nearly unheard of. That’s why the bloggers have legions of loyal fans and the haters are a marginalized, jealous minority.
Spot on!
Ack! I hate how these replies sometimes end up under another post. (Look at me being a “hater”. LOL)
Spot on to JESSICA! She’s got it right.
Drew – I attended your session on IHG as well as the IHG breakout…I was one of the ladies that asked a lot of questions. Being new to IHG, I have a lot to learn and I appreciate the information you shared. I know bloggers are compensated for their credit card links and I always ensure that I use a link of the bloggers that I have learned the most from. There is a lot of work to consolidating the content for others and I highly value that effort. Keep up the good work…I look forward to following your blog in the future.
Thanks much for attending and asking questions! And of course, double thanks for stopping by the blog and saying hi. Hope to see ya around more often.
Although, picky note, I don’t consolidate content, I originate it. 😀
Thank you soooo much for this post. It’s great perspective on a blogosphere I’m still trying to wrap my head around (only been on the scene about 10 months). The hate can be overwhelming, and I admire those that don’t give in to it.
I adore your site’s content, it’s challenging and gets me to think and is my top blog du jour. But places like MMS with consistent elementary hand holding articles on what the companion pass is and how to get it really really helped when I first got in the game. While tons of bloggers explain these popular deals, MMS really stood out to me when I started, including responding to my very basic questions on Twitter.
Thanks again for all the fantastic original content!!
Thanks for commenting. I think the hateful is a VERY small minority who talk a lot. So it’s not too much to worry about, really. lol
Glad you’re enjoying the site, hopefully my content will explain higher level things as clear as MMS does! That’s the goal.
Drew, you are awesome!!! Ignore the negative comments and keep doing the good work!!!
Still, I cannot believe you only flew premium cabin once this year!!! Are you kidding me?!?! That’s way too little!!!! Certain blogger flies F and J all the time and had a kickstarter to fly EY residence….
and for those who complains about cc links – they must be kidding themselves right… since the purpose of visiting blogs like yours is to learn how to use points and miles… and they turn around and post negative comments… unbelievable…
Thanks Yucci! I appreciate the positive encouragement. Definitely trying to ignore the negative comments. I do think it is a few saying a lot, and I should be mindful of the feedback from the majority, not a small hateful minority. So I appreciate comments like yours!
Drew:
I found out about your blog through the FTG blog, and I’m glad I did, I read your blog everyday, happy travels! Keep up the good work. if you are still in Merida, try the “cochinita pibil” it is their specialty in that part of Mexico, you won’t be dissapointed.
Be safe out there!
Thanks for the encouragement and for reading the blog everyday! Like, big thanks, as it’s people like you who keep me going.
Just tried pollo pibil actually! And the food is quite good here. Never disappointed. 🙂
I think what a lot of people are reading between the lines here, rightly or not, is a post that’s positioning a personal justification for coming changes that are meant to more seriously monetize the blog. I also sense in your comments that you are looking more and more at this blog as your business, and a primary way to earn your living. I really appreciate what you do here, as do many many others. Working in a creative field, I can tell you from experience that whenever someone makes a long public declaration that they are not about to sell out, that means they are about to sell out. For my sake, selfishly, I hope that it’s not true. You will lose a certain set of readers if you do, but i’m sure you will gain others and probably make more money doing so. I’m drawn here not just because of your strong content, but also because of what I perceive of as a life/travel philosophy that I don’t get from the other freq. flyer blogs. I respect that you post transparently about your financial challenges, and are truly honest about the cost and method of your travels. I’ve always felt that there was an anti-establishment (even perhaps anti-capitalist) edge to your approach, and that is one of the things I do not get from the the other blogs, most of whom feel very much a part of the machine, and very much about making money. Now, I speak only for myself here, but I think that the life/travel philosophy put forth here will not be anywhere near as potent or relevant if I get the sense that “travel is free” really means “travel is free” when subsidized by affiliate links and advertising for major financial corporations.
I don’t like a lot of people (as it is a small few) are reading between the lines… because there is nothing to read between the lines about.
This is a post about treating people like human. Absolutely nothing to worry about. In fact, this post is about people who benefit from someone/ablog they like, and are quick to call it a sellout. Quick to read between the lines and see negativity… even when it’s not there.
As for the accusation, I have specifically denied it in the comments here, saying there is no change. Again, this a post about loyalty and humanity.
What turned me off from ever reading FTG was his claiming age discrimination about the whole 4 mile HKG glitch.
“Unfortunately others have already travelled for the receipted amount of 8 miles and it would be discriminatory to allow them to travel at that rate and not me. I am a senior citizen and couldn’t make arrangements that quickly to travel yesterday.”
http://blog.wandr.me/2012/07/following-the-revocation-of-the-united-4-mile-awards-the-crazies-come-out/
I try not to participate in blogger(human) gossip. So I can’t say I’m overly concerned about a comment that one person made one time on a forum.
I’m not trying to say it’s bad for you to read/post this… I’m just saying, it’s just not how I want to spend my time.
I saw this post when it first came out and unfortunately I have been stuck at a conference and am just now having time to respond. I know I’m buried at the end but I hope you see this.
After reading this and most the comments, pluss TBB and the comments over there, here are my thoughts, for what it’s worth.
1. I think you have an awesome blog, your’s is by far the best miles and point blog out there.
2. I think you have a very loyal following and it includes a lot of people who have seen their favorite blogs go downhill once the affiliate dollars start flowing.
3. Although I understand that people fear if you use more affiliate links your blog content will end up like the others, I think you deserve the benefit of the doubt and people should stop being a dick about it and let you make money off this thing and reserve judgment. If you turn into an infomercial like the rest, then we move on.
4. Have you given thought to other ways of earning revenue? I think the positive you should take away from all of this is that you have a very loyal and passionate following. Have you giving any sort of thought to fundraising? Why not every quarter try an NPR style fundraiser, or have a donate button in the top left of your website, or maybe hold a contest that requires a monetary contribution? I think you should try it and see how successful it is. I know I would donate and I don’t believe I am the only one.
Keep up the good work.
P.S. I think Milenerd’s rant against your rant was lame.
Thanks Scott, I appreciate the comment. I mean
1) Thanks for the really high compliment.
2) I think you’re right, and I know the hateful is a small number.
3) Yea, and that’s my point. If I turn into an infomercial, move on. But my larger point is that it’s a ridiculous assumption because links monetizing have gone down significantly and the content has gotten better.
Therefore the conclusion is, I’m not the sell out for having less money and better content… the sell out is those who are quick to worry about me selling out. My hardcore readers are worried, they are actually just grateful when I have new original content. And I super appreciate them.
4) I will not do fundraising, but I think about other ways to make money. CC folk are like bosses (bad ones), and that’s not cool.
re: p.s. thanks… :-/ me too lol
You are right in pointing out MMS has always had excellent disclosures. And he has always been nice to everyone. He also allows comments that improve content, whether correcting an error on the burning end (award charts or better programs or whatever) or an error on the earning end (better card offer).
Unfortunately some blogs delete comments that point out these kind of errors, and that’s just crappy blogging and disrespectful to readers. No matter how nice the blogger. They should quit doing that or expect to be called out on it until they do. So that’s my constructive criticism for anyone who does that, as I understand Rene has/does. It’s absolutely no different than if you or I advised a reader to use 12.5K AA miles to fly OKC-DFW without ever mentioning BA Avios, and then deleted comments pointing out the obvious oversight.
I’m sure I’d get along just fine with Rick if I met him. Silly ‘age discrimination’ comments notwithstanding. The decline in his old site and the fact that the buck doesn’t stop with any one person on it is a real bummer.
I have met George and know he is also a nice guy. However, his whole “bloggers I like shouldn’t be presenting alongside bloggers I don’t like” leading up to Chicago came across like a middle school girls clique. TBB would be much better with less focus on the overselling and more on the good content. It’s out there, like twice in the past week on MileValue. MileValue is a perfect case of where George helped a blogger and his readers, since MV stopped deleting comments on better offers after being called out on TBB and elsewhere. I’m pretty sure Robert Ebert didn’t write off movies because he didn’t like the star’s last 3 films.
For you, ignore the readers who call you a sellout. And bloggers who say you (or me or anyone else) shouldn’t rant or have an opinion because you/I/anyone aren’t a “good writer”. That added nothing to anything. Your site is awesome so it has grown and will continue to grow. Not everyone is going to like everything. Write about cards when you want or need to. Fly up front sometimes if the price is right. You deserve to be very successful based on your content.
@ Kenny: Great advice, thanks.
Your right. And that’s my conclusion from all this. Why worry about the opinions of a few, when they don’t represent how my readers feel, and they aren’t adding any value and they only goal is to cut people down.
I also agree that they’re all nice people in person, and that’s all I’m really concerned about. And really, I don’t find it my place to call out other bloggers ethics and what not. When you throw yourself out on the internet, your public. Your mistakes are public, and sometimes your thoughts. So I have a lot of grace for the bloggers you mentioned.
Drew you and your blog are great. This post is not. I disagree with most of what you said here and in the responses. I am not a TBB angry but I do agree with the reaction there this time. I love all of the bloggers talking. you, george, and mile nerd. You are my favorite but you are wrong this time.Sorry.
Don’t let the haters get to you, you are putting out some GREAT original content. Especially love the hotel maps. I know those took a ton of work and they are now my go-to links when planning a trip. Keep up the great work!
Thanks MJ, very glad to know you’re loving some of the content here. It’s why I do this, so thanks for taking the time to share that!
Drew
I logged off from Loyalty Traveler work for the day after reading TBB and then this piece.
Here is my Daniel Day Lewis advice from the movie ‘The Ballad of Jack and Rose’ (No Titianic connection for all you pop reference readers who do not know the movie).
Jack Slavin: If you don’t like your situation, then change it. If you can’t change it, then leave it. It’s your fucking life, man.
I’m confused as to who this is directed to, but incase it is directed to me, I’ll reply… if not, sorry about that.
Although, I much like your advice. Although, I want to be clear I really enjoy my life, lifestyle, work, etc… I wouldn’t change it for more money or less money or whatever. Although, I do try to work harder to make my situation even better. But never would I leave it.
Not sure how the point would have came across that someone doesn’t like their situation. My post is about people who love someone one minute, and then hate on them the next. People who benefit from others, and drag their name through the mud.
And the goal is really to say, “people are people”. Bloggers you don’t like are people too.
As how that came across as I don’t like my situation, I’m not sure. I did one time counter the point of Paul who continually says I’m rich because I’m a blogger… and I pointed out that it’s the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard.
Although the biggest thing you may have gathered complaints of, is the general treatment of fellow human being by TBB and the TBB crowd, including myself. And the changing the situation is that I blocked the site on Chrome. I can’t change the site though.
For that quote alone, I just became a fan.
@Ric. The more I read the quote, seriously, it becomes a life mantra.
Titanic. I am probably in the 95th percentile for spelling ability in the USA, but only about 50% for typing ability and vision.
Bloggers need to make money from their sites if they are going to spend all day generating content. Affiliate links are going to be a part of that. That’s their right.
But the reader behavior which makes bloggers the most profit isn’t always the behavior most profitable to the reader. And with the exception of TIF, Free-quent Miler and Milenomics and a few others, I see few blogs that lead readers in the right direction.
I’m pretty sure that the bigger travel hacking blogs like FTG and MMS generate far more wealth for their owners through CC affiliate links than their owners could possibly generate through general MS. If they are looking at enough of that sweet, sweet affiliate cash, the deal has more value to them outed than on the down low, so why wouldn’t they out it?
I agree, and am glad I’m in the first list of bloggers. However, I’m not qualified to speak on the revenue generated by other bloggers, but I don’t actually disagree with their blogging practices. MMS always promotes the best deals, and he only posts what he thinks will benefit his readers.
Haters gonna hate. Make your money when you feel it is a good deal for the readers too. The day that you feel every deal is good for the readers, we will walk…fair and square.
My only complaint against you is you keep writing valuable and helpful posts and I keep adding them to favorites, it is so annoying! 🙂
Thanks sheila, lol, I’m find with that deal.
Haha, I’m also definitely okay with taking up your reading time and favorites folder! 😀
Thanks much for taking the time to read and favorite things I’ve written. That’s pretty cool for me. 🙂
Drew
I’m late to the party but just want to echo that Steve nailed the blogger-reader relationship. However, not addressed in that post is a difference between a blogger and a hairdresser: the latter gets paid when he provides his service, while the blogger does not; not without something extrinsic like affiliate links. So I see it as a necessary evil, and I do think good blogs like TIF should have a way to be rewarded for their service. Some of my favorite bloggers are frankly sellouts when it comes to credit card advice due to the conflict of interest with their affiliates. I simply roll my eyes and ignore those posts. But they also write lots of original content, and that’s why I’m still a fan. I do think it best to read and support blogs with the highest content-to-affiliate ratio.
Hey Drew, you are my favorite blogger and a true inspiration and deserve to make money from all your hard work. I didn’t read through all of the comments but I think that most people just want bloggers who provides them with useful information, rather than just trying to sell cc links. Like on your post on KLM add in how to get those miles through ink bold or something like that. Not like MMS saying sign up for this cc you can get 2 free nights at blah blah blah or RT to Hawaii etc. My point is make the post about original content and work in a CC, not about the CC and how to use it. I’m sure no one will have a problem with that.
I had this wonderful, lovely response typed out. It was researched, well-versed, and impersonal. But then I read this:
“I don’t want to judge people by their online blog, their online persona, or their online reputation ever again.”
You do realize the absurdity of this, don’t you?
If someone is making misogynistic commentary on fb or twitter, one better believe I’m going to be judging that person. There are somethings online that are NOT okay; and should never be swept under the “oh, he/she is a nice person in real life” excuse.
So it’s okay if one posts inaccurate information? It’s okay if one posts do this…yet the blogger does the opposite? Hypocrisy is acceptable behaviour? It’s okay to mislead the public? WTF? What if the blogger outright lies? That’s alright with you?!
I was open-minded to your viewpoint up until this commentary.
One’s blog represents one’s character. It is an extension of that person. It either represents one’s superficiality or one’s most inner thoughts. Either way, over a period of time, one’s blog postings does reflect one’s character.
I’m not so sure anymore what that one particular commentary says about you. I feel as if you’re a seal surrounded by sharks. Are you rescued or eaten by them?
From this one comment from you, I now do not trust anything that you post. I cannot trust that you researched appropriately nor that you care to do so. I no longer respect your knowledge as a “points and miles” blogger.
This is a very sad evening upon that realization.