Living in the air

[Princess Fiona]

Nasty, PF, very nasty :mrgreen:.

I prescribe a healthy dose of reality JohnM

 

[Princess Fiona]

Re: A Frequent Flyer?!?!?

"Mr Schlappig is a high-profile member of The Hobby, an online community devoted to scrounging maximum value out of airlines."

I think someone's a bit confused...

We asked Gleff about this and he's never heard of The Hobby either. Think Rolling Stone was rolling other things and smoking them during the write-up

 

[JohnM]

It will be interesting to see what the question session is like tomorrow.
The activity on social media today has been quite entertaining

You have far too much time on your hands, PF! I guess that's what comes with being a Princess...:mrgreen:.

 

[JohnM]

I prescribe a healthy dose of reality JohnM

Sorry, couldn't read the handwriting :mrgreen:.

 

[boomy]

Of course Ben's advice is good for full fare tickets, but not necessarily so for discounted ones. And ignores availability being open at 365 days for QF customers but a month less for AA ones. And ignored credit card earn and everyday rewards and the like.

This was the first thing on my mind when listening to his advice about AA. It's too shallow and doesn't apply to most Aussies who usually purchase discounted tickets.

Regarding the Rolling Stone article, it was a good read. I get the passion of flying, after more then two-three days on the ground I'm keen to get back in the air.
What I don't get is all the connections without leaving the airports. He already gets airline and hotels fares very cheap so why not stopping for a few days in each city to enjoy the destination as well as the journey...

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Regarding the Rolling Stone article, it was a good read. I get the passion of flying, after more then two-three days on the ground I'm keen to get back in the air.
What I don't get is all the connections without leaving the airports. He already gets airline and hotels fares very cheap so why not stopping for a few days in each city to enjoy the destination as well as the journey...

Different things interest different people I guess. Not all flight attendants leave their hotels during layovers to explore the city.

If doing a YUP in the states with lots of connections... I rarely have the urge to stop off in the city to explore. So I get that bit.

And his readers are interested in the points, airlines and hotels... not necessarily the sightseeing that goes with those cities.

 

[JohnM]

What I don't get is all the connections without leaving the airports. He already gets airline and hotels fares very cheap so why not stopping for a few days in each city to enjoy the destination as well as the journey...

Don't forget a likely healthy dose of embellishment in the story.

 

[boomy]

Different things interest different people I guess. Not all flight attendants leave their hotels during layovers to explore the city.

If doing a YUP in the states with lots of connections... I rarely have the urge to stop off in the city to explore. So I get that bit.

And his readers are interested in the points, airlines and hotels... not necessarily the sightseeing that goes with those cities.

That's true although I guess FAs prefer to stay in for being fatigue after hours of hard work, not something you get after flying first class

I'm not criticising the guy and I respect the passion and that he shares his experiences, just think that it's a bit of missed opportunity to see the world instead of keep flying with no real purpose. After so many flights, the glorious pointy end experience surely starts to wear off at some stage.

 

[JohnM]

The downside of this publicity is that it likely intensifies efforts to close off arbitrage opportunities - see the ATO CC payments thread if you want a close-to-home example.

 

[boomy]

Was hoping he would clarify the QF-AA points credit on the second interview. While most people will do nothing with the information, I suspect there will be some very unhappy campers after switching their discount economy points earn from QF to AA.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Was hoping he would clarify the QF-AA points credit on the second interview. While most people will do nothing with the information, I suspect there will be some very unhappy campers after switching their discount economy points earn from QF to AA.

I didn't get to see the Q and A, but it is available on line: https://au.tv.yahoo.com/sunrise/vid...avels-the-world-without-paying-a-thing/#page1

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I suspect there will be lots of excitement, but it's not going to translate into a lot of real action. Not many people are going to fork out to buy points from AA (or UA or anyone else) in the $$ required for anything meaningful. Plus it's not really as simple as Ben makes it out to be.

One thing he didn't explain so well was the international upgrade... with Qantas at least. The whole 'join the lottery' was not even touched on.

 

[boomy]

The positive outcome from these interviews is that some frequent and less frequent flyers will become curious and start researching more how to maximise their earn and spend. Relying on a few scattered tips is not enough to make any significant impacts. A lot of time and effort must be put into this, or just pay someone else to do everything if time is more valuable.

 

[opusman]

The huge advantage Schlappig has over anyone watching him on Sunrise is access to the dozens of credit card sign up deals in the USA. I've actually got a bit bored with his blog now because every second post is about credit cards (from which he obviously earns decent commissions), and none of it is remotely useful to anyone outside of the States.

 

[Deleted member 26544]

The huge advantage Schlappig has over anyone watching him on Sunrise is access to the dozens of credit card sign up deals in the USA. I've actually got a bit bored with his blog now because every second post is about credit cards (from which he obviously earns decent commissions), and none of it is remotely useful to anyone outside of the States.

I only skim his blog once a week now as it is hardly useful to someone based outside the US. Even the trip reports are becoming too alike.

 

[Danger]

The huge advantage Schlappig has over anyone watching him on Sunrise is access to the dozens of credit card sign up deals in the USA. I've actually got a bit bored with his blog now because every second post is about credit cards (from which he obviously earns decent commissions), and none of it is remotely useful to anyone outside of the States.

I find that part depressing. So many more credit card offers in the US.

 

[alstar]

The Rolling Stone article was definitely a good read, though as with Up in the Air film, there was a clear psychosocial dimension which piqued when it revealed his personal history of family loss. I agree with the sense of loneliness that it conveyed in Ben. It came across as him travelling because all his friends are the airport/airline staff, that he has no home and that it's his job. It is glamourised to a degree but I certainly wouldn't want to do what he does forever.

 

[serfty]

Re: A Frequent Flyer?!?!?

We asked Gleff about this and he's never heard of The Hobby either. Think Rolling Stone was rolling other things and smoking them during the write-up

While he seems to have used the term 'hobby', there's other things he apparently was not aware off.

Hi, I'm Ben... And I Don't Travel The World For Free - One Mile at a Time

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Re: A Frequent Flyer?!?!?

While he seems to have used the term 'hobby', there's other things he apparently was not aware off.

Hi, I'm Ben... And I Don't Travel The World For Free - One Mile at a Time

It's refreshing to see Ben taking responsibility for the (mis)interpretation of the 'idiots' line (with respect to those running FF programs). I think he handled that really well (noting that much of his business actually relied on good relations with those people).

Ben hasn't always been aware that his actions might lead to consequences (such as publishing details of China Southern cabin crew sleeping in First class dueing a trans-pac flight, which led to them be reprimanded and demoted). This is a good step in the right direction.