As of today: $0.00 has been claimed by haters. (I’ll update the dollar amount the minute it changes).
To those who complain about bloggers killing your deals, I’ve got a $100 opportunity for you to prove that your deal was killed by one of those evil deal-killing bloggers.
From discovering all of United’s routing rules (after the Continental merger, and then again in 2016) to this week’s post on Extreme Maximizing of JAL Miles, I’m familiar with the process of discovering deals.
Less common for myself, but I’m also somewhat familiar with being accused of being a deal killer.
Every time this does happen, I’m extremely skeptical that the person complaining about my posting, isn’t ironically benefiting from it. That is, the only reason they know about the deal they want to keep secret, is because a blogger like myself found it.
Given that not a single place on the internet had remotely published the tricks I found, I was pretty certain any grumblings of killing the deal were nonsense.
So, in this week’s podcast with Nick of Frequent Miler – where we discussed his Turkish Miles & Smiles deal of 7,500 miles to Hawaii(!) – I had the same suspicion… but this time, I put my money where my mouth is.
On a whim, I made a $100 bet for any blog-hater. Having long been tired of the hypocrisy of complaining about sharing a deal that a person would have never discovered without the blogger they’re hating on, I decided to put my money where my mouth is.
If bloggers are doing more killing than sharing, I should go broke right?
Because my hunch based on the positive comments is that tons and tons of people benefited from this deal that wouldn’t have. And I also have a hunch that none of the negative comments are from people who were using this deal before. None, is my guess.
Yet, the irony is that people will keep reading to find the deals, and keep commenting about how bad bloggers are. If not, prove me wrong!
For people with comments, like this:
If I’m wrong, that you’re not hypocritical trolls who learned about these deals from Nick then complained about it… I got $100 for you!
Yet, somehow, I have a feeling none of these people can prove they booked this deal before Nick posted about. None.
Remember, I’m extremely cheap! But… I don’t want to be all talk.
For years, I’ve thought that the blog haters are complete hypocrites, but have had no way to prove it.
Nothing proves a point like money.
$100 Bet: Terms & Conditions
To qualify, you must:
- Have already commented on FrequentMiler’s Turkish post with a complaint about killing the deal before the publication of the podcast.
- I will contact Greg and verify the email of the commenter.
- Be able to show an email proving a ticket to Hawaii with Turkish for 7,500 miles before Nick’s original post on the deal on 7/5/19 (see: 7.5K each way to Hawaii: The sweetest spot we’ve been missing).
To start:
- Comment here with the link to your comment.
I will be able to see your comment’s email and will then ask Greg to confirm the email of the email address of the original comment. - If they match, then I will contact you for verification of the booking and identity.
Conclusion
If I’m wrong, I’m $100 per person wrong.
If I’m right… Well… Likely nothing will happen. I seriously doubt any negative commenter will see the hypocrisy of their ways and apologize for attacking the very thing they benefit from. It won’t happen.
But for those tempted by their neanderthal instincts of self-preservation and tribalism (over miles and points deals of all things), my message is simple:
It’s easy to get caught up in an “us vs them” mentality, it appears to be human nature. But the blog-hating is just that – tribalism. Even if there is a seldom good point (as bloggers are indeed human), and it’s blown way out of proportion.
Chill out. Breath. The deals we find aren’t just for you (crazy I know), and even the unpublished deals aren’t just for you. As I mentioned, there are way more people who benefited from this deal than have lost it, and that’s true in general. That’s why y’all are reading blogs in the first place!
Hundreds of people have probably benefited from this deal already…
And so far, zero people have proven they’ve lost the deal.
![Nick of FM on #40kFarAway [TIF Podcast]](https://travelisfree.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/travel-is-free-podcast-nick-40K-120x86.jpg)
Looks like it bothers you a lot, Drew. I’d move on if I were you. Let the haters do the hatin’. Not even necessary to waste your time writing this, or for your readers to have to read it.
This happens in every aspect of life. You’d never please everyone! Even if you were the poor of Calcutta being served by Mother Teresa you’d find some reason to gripe …
Totally agree – you can’t please everyone all the time… And I don’t try. In fact, the bet isn’t even about my post.
I think if you listen to the podcast where Nick was telling me about the reaction, it would be clear that the idea came from a fun whim.
Personally, I think it’s a fun idea, that happens to prove a point (that the very people attacking bloggers are also gaining for them (hence them reading them)).
Personally, I’m not at all bothered, and negative comments have never gotten under my skin.
On the other hand, I have seen people hurt by negative comments, and that does bother me. In general, people in this hobby, like all things with people, can be unreasonable and tribal.
Either way, I think it’s a fun idea, and I’m interested in seeing this play out.
Anything happening with the travel agency idea? Also, are you working for TPG? (I dont follow over there but I still see you posting good stuff here, which I think some people were worried would go away.)
I am working at TPG. However, the travel agency idea got held up because the selling business backed out. Which started the long process over. So still TBD.
How dare you…how DARE YOU maybe kill off a deal that I would never have known about about and might not be able to use in time! I mean now I have to book it right away before it dies and….wow this is going to be a really fun trip but DAMN YOU for telling other people about it!
This is basically every miles blog commenter. 😀
Are you paying the $100 or is your employer The Points Guy?
Two deals come to mind without even blinking. I am sure Dan of DansDeals and Nick at Personal Finance Digest can elaborate. It concerns your buddy Daraius at MMS who also sold out at, wait for it, The Points Guy.
Drew, focus on your job, looks like a good arrangement for you. Don’t worry about keeping up this blog…which was also bought by…The Points Guy 🙂
Cheers
stfu george
While I totally agree with Stan…
I’ll clarify that this is my $100. TPG has no involvement with Travel is Free content. So no need to be a dick.
George, showing an example of a dead deal doesn’t remotely disprove the point: that people get more value out of blogs than negatives. In fact, they’re only negatives because people enjoy them so much, AFTER they learn about them from blogs.
I couldn’t care less what the haters think. They have never contributed anything toward my enjoyment of great trips, while people like you and Nick have been a big help over the years. It’s a truism that there are lots of people out there who want the word about great deals to spread until the moment they learn about them, then after that any further information is horrible deal killing.
Ignore them. No problem with your current offer, since you’re proving a point, but don’t get too bothered by their useless complaints.
I’ll ignore them… But I enjoy ignoring them more knowing that no one has even tried to collect a dollar.
LOVE IT!!!
Thanks! 😀 And still at $0 claimed.
20% back jet blue CC was definitely killed by Greg and Nick.
Maybe you didn’t read the post. But my point is not that they didn’t kill the deal, it’s the they do waaaaaay more good than harm (which currently amounts to zero harm).
What an asinine entry. To act like no deals have gone away *ever* because of bloggers is insane.
Now, don’t get me wrong—I’ve gotten more positives from bloggers than the negatives of deal-killing. I’ve never bitched about a blogger-publicized deal being killed, that’s just part and parcel of this activity.
But to willfully ignore this obvious truth about deal-killing….
Drew, you’ve been a great blogger and invaluable asset. But also flaky at times. Like here.
Maybe you too didn’t read the post. I did not claim that they aren’t killing the deal, I’m proving that they are doing 100x more good than harm and that the harm currently amounts to zero (as no one who knew about it before has lost it).
So no reason to be a dick just because you don’t understand the point.
So this $100 is of course sponsored by the points guy right asshole?
Not at all. TPG has no involvement with any of my content. I did not ask them to post this post, nor told them about it at all. I’d be surprised if any of em know it exists.
Dang- only a few people knew about this $100 bet. You’re killing the $100 bet deal 😀
LOL! 😀 No one’s claimed one yet!
Wow I’m impressed by how much negativity there still is in the comments section.
How about this? Deals are never killed by bloggers. They are killed by blog readers who willfully act on the deals. Upset people please stop reading these blogs and save yourself some mental wellness!
Ya know, that’s a really good point.
Also, a deal being killed is indicative of volume, which is indicative of how many people benefited.
Yeah, people are idiots. I ignore them.
your readers are choking on the corporate greed stench of this blog
Comments like these really highlight that people are willing to be negative despite complete ignorance.
I had/have 0% incentives to post this. I will make $0. I did it on my own time because I think it’s a good point.
Ahh yes, reminds me of the time a few years back when Greg at FM posted that people should watch their carry-on bags when deplaning to make sure they aren’t stolen. DEAL KILLER!
Not a “hater”, and I’d like to think I’m among the most grateful many across this decade for your efforts…. and for those deals, tricks, and skills you have ….. shared. Still, I smiled/frowned when I saw this post, in part because I well remember your post from 2013, wherein you ‘splained to us why you “don’t kill deals.”
https://travelisfree.com/why-i-dont-kill-deals/
T’would seem your views have changed on this…. Or maybe I never quite comprehended the first post.
Yeah it seems he’s changed his tone since TPG acquisition. I don’t quite have the same sour tone as many of the commenters above, but I see that Drew is missing the greater point in favor of preaching about some of his readers.
I enjoy your content and many others. But there are some things you shouldn’t blast from the rooftops; and there are even certain blogs that shouldn’t touch topics – many of the topics dealt with here are fine because (sorry) but this blog is a lot smaller than others. There’s a level of nuance that isn’t being seen here.
So you’re offering me $100 to make a post about something that will be killed? I make $100 and get free publicity for being the first one to claim $100 off you? Win-Win.
You’ve yet to do it.
I am so proud of you sweety, keep up the good work.
Love mom
go like your grandmas facebook photos