To me, I look at this hobby as the banks, airlines, hotel programs vs. us consumers, just trying to catch a break and save a few bucks on travel. The reason I think we always win is the ability to act quickly.
I’ve spent most of my life working for myself. I did have one job at an insurance company right out of college. I lasted about 14 months, living by corporate rules.
It’s those rules and bureaucracy that gives us the edge in this game. Look at some of the latest examples of how we, as “nimble players,” can always win.
One of us somewhere in the USA found a terms and conditions sheet for the Hilton Aspire Card that clearly said “NO annual fee first year.” We spread the word rapidly and many of us were approved before they even knew what hit them. They can back out of their offer and piss some people off OR, and most probably, honor their mistake for those that applied in time.
Mistake fares
Look at airline mistake fares. I flew in business class years ago from the U.S. to New Zealand for $1,428.00 round-trip. They simply just forgot a “0”. It was supposed to be $14,280. The fare was honored.
Do you think United would actually take the chance on the bad press of cancelling our already purchased tickets? Why everybody that got in on that deal I’m sure had secured prepaid hotel reservations, taken time off work, found a babysitter ;).
You know they acted in good faith based on United publishing that fare.
We see them all the time. Missed zeros, forget to put the actual fare in, and charged just the taxes. How about offering 60 points per dollar instead of the correct 6?
Resources that help us win
Bloggers are important in spreading the word to us hobbyists. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve won because of a blog informing me of a great deal. Or maybe a website like secretflying.com?
Your willingness to read others’ stories and reports, share with your friends and fellow travelers, makes this hobby as successful as it is. The idea of keeping a deal to yourself is great until you get your seat booked. But after that, share with all of us.
Why should anyone be the only one to win? I can’t think of any member of this family that finds all the deals they need by themselves.
Final thoughts
The next time you hear a naysayer say that “a blogger killed a deal“, think about all who got to enjoy the deal before it got died.
Somehow we need to encourage the further sharing of ideas and deals. The big corporate slugs that try to keep up are just outmatched by the nimble free-spirited hobbyists that are willing to share their bounty with their fellow enthusiasts.
I think again, we are responsible for our own success and failure in the game. The more time we put in, the info we share, the more likely others will do the same. Let’s try to all stay team players.
Last I heard, Visa, MC, Amex et al are raking in record profits with consumer debt at all-time highs. Yes, those few of us playing the game properly are in the plus column. However the Average Joe is up to their eyeballs in very expensive debt as they are lured into signing up for rewards cards by scammers, er, travel experts (click here and travel for freeeeeee!!) with exorbitant interest rates and who then blindly rack up debt on idiotic purchases (New car! New clothes! Trips to Europe! Food delivery!! – Pay the minimum!).
I think rewards bloggers in general should do more to emphasize the importance of paying cards off every month and never ever ever paying interest. Here and there an article about fiscal responsibility pops up, but most people investigating the hobby probably won’t come across those.
Some bloggers are more shills for the bank than others though. I can think of one very prominent blog-turned-corporation that is much more invested in selling cards than it is in teaching people about travel rewards.
Heck, maybe the banks straight up ask bloggers to be hush-hush about not racking up debt.
I never got the “killed a deal” thing. Other deals that were exposed and died quickly were fine because they lined up well with your plans and you could take advantage of them before they were killed; out comes a deal that doesn’t line up, and you’re pissed off because it gets killed before you can take advantage of it? And so you delude yourself into thinking you would’ve found out about it yourself, rather than realizing you wouldn’t have, and would’ve had the opposite reaction if it did line up.
How many have you found out about yourself, and how many have you learned about from others? How good do you think you are at this? Spoiler – you’re probably not that good as you think, you just want to know about deals when they’re convenient for you, and want the rest kept under wraps until you’re ready for them.
And hey, even if you would have found out about it yourself – not only do you have blogs and commenters to thank for helping you get into the game and hone your skills, but in the grand scheme of things, how big of a loss is it, really? You burn through tens, hundreds of thousands of miles a year. Maybe millions, if you’re a seasoned churner or MSer, or a big spender. Are the extra 20k RT that you burn on SQ instead of TK for a RT to Hawaii really worth that much to you? And to tie back to the first point, has the community not saved you tens, hundreds of times more than that over the years?
Good one!
Go back to selling credit cards Rick!
I have seen the mistake fares, but since one of us still works in the household, pretty hard to take up on those. I think finding those saver fares in business class for the dates you want, make those like finding the mistake fare. Imagine the lucky person that finds that Hawaii business class seats and can use those Turkish miles. That is like winning the lottery.
There was the book the 9 false airfares on Iberia and get 90K Avios. That was like a mistake fare. There was the elevator thing with IHG which was a no brainer. Or Amex sending my wife a note to upgrade the credit card she had closed 4 mos. prior and give her 150K points, then immediately ask her to upgrade to Aspire for another 150K.
Right now the Double Cash citi card is sorta in that category of easy picking. All of these were done without leaving the house. Those are my kind of bargains.
Some deals you can take advantage of and some you can’t.
I had a nice, long comment about the whole thing that never posted… yet I’m still subscribed to updates?
In any case, I think the whole “you killed the deal” thing is self-serving. It’s okay when a deal is posted and they can take advantage of it, but if they can’t, they’d rather it not be posted at all. Then they take it a step further and say they would’ve found out about it themselves, as if their history of jumping on posted deals isn’t evidence against that; or, for the real deal sleuths, as if they don’t have the blogs to thank for teaching them those strategies in the first place.
Hey George, I restored your comment. I’ve had this issue on the site for a few weeks now where comments are going directly into the trash. I still don’t know why, but I’ve been restoring them manually every couple of hours until it’s figured out.
Your comment about being willing to look for and jump on the bargain really resonates with me. I have friends who are jealous of the bargains I get. I tell them EXACTLY how I did it. Recently, got a Ring Pro doorbell, selling everywhere for $230, for $130. It’s certified refurbished, so has a new item warranty.
Told a fried: go to woot.com. Sign up for their emails. When it’s on sale again, buy it that day.
Her response? I should let her know the next time
Nope. I just showed her how easy it is to fish. I’m not holding her rod and reel for her.
So true. I’ve given up on telling people. When you are given the information you need to act.
Right, I’m very selective with whom i share with now. I really don’t care anymore if they’re jealous while not wanting to lift a finger to learn!
Great post Rick. Thank you
I agree! The more the merrier! Make sunshine while it rains or whatever that phrase is. I think it’s just plain cowardly for DoC to pull his Chase leaked link story. Why publish if you don’t stand by what you’ve written? Props to FM for keeping his up. https://web.archive.org/web/20191118022840/https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-sapphire-preferred-70000-point-offer-fixed-apr/
Was thinking about this the other day. Scored a mistake rate at a Hyatt Resort (2 bedroom specialty suite for the same rate as a standard room) recently, but have been paranoid about discussing it. Rate has since been removed.
Is bad publicity really a concern for these companies? I mean what are the odds that a major news outlet hurts their business by revealing they wouldn’t give people First class seats for pennies on the dollar?