In this site’s first post I took issue with other travel blogs. Influencer hype and sponsorships fail to offer much value to readers. But these sites only represent half the travel blog landscape. Sites focused on points and miles make up the other half. They focus on that hobby and on airlines and hotels exclusively. While generally better than the influencers, points sites come with their own set of issues.
Read the first part of this post here.
This blog hasn’t got a points and mile focus. I believe the average traveler is mostly seeking out the lowest possible rates and likely using a credit card or loyalty program to save a little money on the margins. That’s the way I travel. I’m more concerned with finding value on each trip than getting there for free. I won’t be steering readers toward the Ritz Carlton no matter how many points they have.
About 90% of being points-savvy is leveraging sign up bonuses and the spending you’re doing anyway to fly for free. The miles earned on each purchase are a rebate to the consumer. They come out of the merchant’s swipe fee as inducement to use the bank’s card. If you’re the sort of consumer who earns a fair amount, has outstanding credit, and pays off accounts every month you’re in the prime position to take advantage of this system.
I am that sort of consumer, and in trying to write frankly about travel the topic of points and miles will come up eventually.
The Points and Miles Credit Card Pushers
Most points and miles sites earn the bulk of their income from credit card affiliate links. Banks are willing to spend a ludicrous amount on customer acquisition. In addition to handing out a welcome bonus to the consumer it’s nothing to them to pay a site owner a few hundred dollars for each approved referral. If I post a link to Capital One do I want you to click it? Absolutely! But I don’t need the click.
When a points and miles blog is your full time job, you end up crafting whole pages of content centered around the links. This might take the form of an overview of a card’s benefits, or a comparison of two similar cards. You also end up rushing to be the first to post about a bank’s new card or increased offer. Many of these sites are functionally nothing more than PR engines for the various banks, airlines and hotels they cover. While this can alert you to great deals, over the long run the reader is poorly served. Reading the site regularly brings diminishing returns on your time and interest.
As a traveler, you should take it upon yourself to be familiar with the benefits of each card you hold. Know the landscape of loyalty programs generally. But once you’ve mastered the basics it’s fine to go on autopilot and just keep one eye on Boarding Area. There’s only four large banks, three domestic airlines and about half a dozen hotel brands you need to be aware of. It’s not brain surgery.
The Extreme Couponers
When sites go into aspects of the points and miles hobby beyond welcome bonuses they get into the weeds quickly. I came to your blog because I’m interested in travel. I don’t want to squeeze an extra 2% out of comparing a product in six different shopping portals. I’m not going to get the Ink Business just to buy gift cards at Staples. And stop telling me to pay my rent with the damn Bilt card. It ain’t gonna happen.
You should sign up for the loyalty program every time you fly or stay. Brands offer valuable promotions to their loyalty members. But belonging to a program shouldn’t be a main consideration when you’re going to book. Let’s say you earn 1000 points for a hotel night. The points are worth $8 but the competing property nearby is available for $30 less on Expedia. It doesn’t take a genius to see where the value is.
Points and Miles Aviation Geeks
If you ever see a blogger refer to an airline’s “product” close the window and don’t look back. You’re about to be bored to death. Points bloggers all share an obsession with business class. Many of them are booking longer flights just to stay on the plane longer. They want you to know every detail of the experience down to which airline has the fluffiest pajamas.
To me, and to most of the traveling public, a flight is something to be endured. Granted it’s a whole lot easier to endure in the Q Suites than a middle seat in the back. But most of us travel to get to where we’re going, not because we want to enjoy a plane ride. The inside baseball of the aviation industry is of no interest to the general traveler.
Similarly with hotels, points and miles sites write thorough and detailed reviews. The problem is if you’re thinking about staying at the Park Hyatt New York, you don’t need a review to tell you it’s nice. The traveler looking to book a room is much better served by a review of the $100 hotel they’re on the fence about. It’s bonkers that some bloggers are flying around the world to write reviews and not spending any time in the city they’re visiting.
Then there’s the airport lounge reviews. Bro, it’s a waiting room. Yes there’s a bar and a buffet but you’re reviewing a damn waiting room. Showing off your access just comes off as smug.
They’re All Just Giant Dorks
If I don’t want to hang out with someone in real life, why would I follow their blog online? People in the points and miles world are very pleasant and friendly. But they’re also a large collection of coupon clippers, Disney adults, and soccer moms. For readers, points and status represent a brief respite from ordinary suburban life. If your job only gives you two weeks vacation it’s not hard to save enough points to fill that time.
On this site I’ll be posting about places I visited because I wanted to go there, not because they were a great deal on points. I recently read a post about how to book an award flight to Rome. By the end of the post the blogger didn’t even get to Italy! He went somewhere else entirely rather than sit in economy, which is insane to me.
This site’s goal is not to let you know how I got to where I went. It’s to describe destinations with cultural context and narrative clarity. That means actually getting to Rome. It means telling you which neighborhoods feature pretty girls sipping Aperol and zooming around on Vespas. You don’t need a blog to sit by the hotel pool all day and visit the spa.
