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Author Topic: Consumer Advocate Attacks Credit Card/Points Blogs  (Read 71440 times)

Offline Yosef_S

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Consumer Advocate Attacks Credit Card/Points Blogs
« on: February 04, 2015, 09:12:51 PM »
Former DDF Lurker Finally Getting the Hang of Posting...

Offline yakrot

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Re: Consumer Advocate Attacks Credit Card/Points Blogs
« Reply #1 on: February 04, 2015, 09:32:06 PM »
Harsh.  #1 rule on Ddf is if you can't pay your bill on full every month this game is not for you, shred any cards you already have.

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Re: Consumer Advocate Attacks Credit Card/Points Blogs
« Reply #2 on: February 04, 2015, 09:36:12 PM »
he has some good points

Offline Freddie

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Re: Consumer Advocate Attacks Credit Card/Points Blogs
« Reply #3 on: February 04, 2015, 09:41:36 PM »
Whenever I periodically wonder, "Gosh, somebody must be paying for me to fly to Australia in F," I am reminded by articles like these, "Oh, yeah, 90% of the people who will open a card for the bonus will end up paying thousands of dollars in interest payments!"

Offline TimT

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Re: Consumer Advocate Attacks Credit Card/Points Blogs
« Reply #4 on: February 04, 2015, 09:43:17 PM »
"People don't read the fine print." Not the bloggers fault.
& he leaves out a very important thing. "Choice"

Offline ChaimMoskowitz

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Re: Consumer Advocate Attacks Credit Card/Points Blogs
« Reply #5 on: February 05, 2015, 12:29:20 AM »
Whenever I periodically wonder, "Gosh, somebody must be paying for me to fly to Australia in F," I am reminded by articles like these, "Oh, yeah, 90% of the people who will open a card for the bonus will end up paying thousands of dollars in interest payments!"
FWF use to rip CB for being a bunch of deadbeats. Then they realized they were a necessary part of the food chain. This was during the lucrative BT days.
I just found a new supply of forks!

Offline dpk4588

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Re: Consumer Advocate Attacks Credit Card/Points Blogs
« Reply #6 on: February 05, 2015, 12:43:28 AM »
Yes, these bloggers have skin in the game but that doesn't mean they're advice isn't good and it doesn't mean what they're doing is wrong. Just because they make money off of it doesn't mean that they're in it to screw the people they're giving advice to. Its actually beneficial for these bloggers to give the readers all the facts, because if the readers get screwed by not having all the info, they won't be repeat customers, which costs the bloggers money.
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.
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Offline ez1985

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Re: Consumer Advocate Attacks Credit Card/Points Blogs
« Reply #7 on: February 05, 2015, 01:01:34 AM »
Yes, these bloggers have skin in the game but that doesn't mean they're advice isn't good and it doesn't mean what they're doing is wrong. Just because they make money off of it doesn't mean that they're in it to screw the people they're giving advice to. Its actually beneficial for these bloggers to give the readers all the facts, because if the readers get screwed by not having all the info, they won't be repeat customers, which costs the bloggers money.
i agree. I thought his point about not trusting a blogger because he is making money on uou us stupid. Do you not trust your insurance agent because he makes money off you signing up for something?  You need to use the one you trust and the same goes for a blogger.

Offline dpk4588

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Re: Consumer Advocate Attacks Credit Card/Points Blogs
« Reply #8 on: February 05, 2015, 01:11:49 AM »
i agree. I thought his point about not trusting a blogger because he is making money on uou us stupid. Do you not trust your insurance agent because he makes money off you signing up for something?  You need to use the one you trust and the same goes for a blogger.
I actually thought about using that analogy, the problem is in some cases someone like an insurance agent might make more money if you get a more expensive policy and might therefore push that one even if its not the best option for you. I don't know if that's true or not with credit card blogs, but if it is, it would kind of reinforce the point of the article.

But again I don't know if there are different levels of compensation for different cards or not.

You're right, the bottom line is use someone you trust, and that's not a rule for just credit card/travel blogs and insurance brokers.
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.
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Re: Consumer Advocate Attacks Credit Card/Points Blogs
« Reply #9 on: February 05, 2015, 01:38:14 AM »
its not that I dont trust the blogs that push affiliate links but I do trust them less, and I know I wont get the full picture form them. The blogs that dont have affiliate links have a lot of great info that  the others blogs dont go near. Sometimes the affiliate blogs wont talk about stuff because they dont want to rock the boat with the advertisers and some have the attitude that they will only talk about something if they make money.

Offline Myccrabbi

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Re: Consumer Advocate Attacks Credit Card/Points Blogs
« Reply #10 on: February 05, 2015, 01:45:57 AM »
Iirc, every DDS (that i attended )dan starts off by saying that if you have no self control (in spending money) this game is not for you!
If u work for a living, why kill urself working?

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Re: Consumer Advocate Attacks Credit Card/Points Blogs
« Reply #11 on: February 05, 2015, 02:21:46 AM »
Iirc, every DDS (that i attended )dan starts off by saying that if you have no self control (in spending money) this game is not for you!

thats not the only issue

Offline TimT

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Re: Consumer Advocate Attacks Credit Card/Points Blogs
« Reply #12 on: February 05, 2015, 09:04:18 AM »
Iirc, every DDS (that i attended )dan starts off by saying that if you have no self control (in spending money) this game is not for you!
And every DDMS post explaining the cc game as well.

Offline Dan

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Re: Consumer Advocate Attacks Credit Card/Points Blogs
« Reply #13 on: February 05, 2015, 09:13:42 AM »
Save your time, I don't answer PM. Post it in the forum and a dedicated DDF'er will get back to you as soon as possible.

Offline TimT

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Re: Consumer Advocate Attacks Credit Card/Points Blogs
« Reply #14 on: February 05, 2015, 09:20:15 AM »
"Odds are you won't be able to redeem the points the way you want to."
Has he never read a TR ? What planet is he on ?

Offline Emkay

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Re: Consumer Advocate Attacks Credit Card/Points Blogs
« Reply #15 on: February 05, 2015, 09:23:44 AM »
Same guy who advises cutting up your mileage earning credit card: http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/traveler-magazine/the-insider/loyalty-programs/

Who advises not collecting miles as they're just a scam: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20121119145727-332179-frequent-flier-programs-are-a-scam-here-s-why-you-should-quit-yours-now

And who decries lie-flat seats as class-warfare: http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/2014/02/02/travelers-might-have-lost-the-class-war/5174745/

Who wants government regulation of mileage programs: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christopher-elliott/is-it-time-to-regulate-fr_b_3362291.html

Who thinks airline change fees spread ebola: http://elliott.org/the-navigator/shortsighted-airline-refund-policies-lead-outbreak/ 

Who thinks taxpayers subsidize business travelers: http://consumertraveler.com/columns/travel-like-a-pro/whos-subsidizing-those-first-class-tickets-you/

Who loves earning miles on spend instead of distance: http://elliott.org/blog/love-deltas-new-loyalty-program-youll-probably-hate/

And who asked his readers if he should get into the CC affiliate business: http://elliott.org/blog/now/
Lol!
Did you put together that compilation yourself?

Offline shimino1

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Re: Consumer Advocate Attacks Credit Card/Points Blogs
« Reply #16 on: February 05, 2015, 10:06:03 AM »
All his poll questions are extremely leading

Offline Redbull3

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Re: Consumer Advocate Attacks Credit Card/Points Blogs
« Reply #17 on: February 05, 2015, 10:07:01 AM »
i agree. I thought his point about not trusting a blogger because he is making money on uou us stupid. Do you not trust your insurance agent because he makes money off you signing up for something?  You need to use the one you trust and the same goes for a blogger.
I actually thought about using that analogy, the problem is in some cases someone like an insurance agent might make more money if you get a more expensive policy and might therefore push that one even if its not the best option for you. I don't know if that's true or not with credit card blogs, but if it is, it would kind of reinforce the point of the article.

But again I don't know if there are different levels of compensation for different cards or not.

You're right, the bottom line is use someone you trust, and that's not a rule for just credit card/travel blogs and insurance brokers.

As a lover of this topic please excuse the digression. He's actually right with that point, and yes, you should consider the financial incentives/motives of ANYONE giving you advice of any kind, whether it is insurance agent, stock broker, real estate agent, etc. Money makes the world go round. Human behavior is motivated by many factors and financial incentives are not only relevant but usually a powerful determinant. IMO they are actually the most predictive factor for human behavior. Same reason baseball players continue to get busted for steroid use even with huge repercussions - the financial benefit of a major league minimum salary for a minor leaguer is worth the risk of getting caught, the harm to the body including dying young and increasing the chances for many diseases, etc. There are billions/infinite other examples.

If you get a chance read the book Freakonomics and specifically check out the section that discusses the motives of real estate agents.


Offline Boruch999

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Re: Consumer Advocate Attacks Credit Card/Points Blogs
« Reply #18 on: February 05, 2015, 10:32:17 AM »
As a lover of this topic please excuse the digression. He's actually right with that point, and yes, you should consider the financial incentives/motives of ANYONE giving you advice of any kind, whether it is insurance agent, stock broker, real estate agent, etc. Money makes the world go round. Human behavior is motivated by many factors and financial incentives are not only relevant but usually a powerful determinant. IMO they are actually the most predictive factor for human behavior. Same reason baseball players continue to get busted for steroid use even with huge repercussions - the financial benefit of a major league minimum salary for a minor leaguer is worth the risk of getting caught, the harm to the body including dying young and increasing the chances for many diseases, etc. There are billions/infinite other examples.

If you get a chance read the book Freakonomics and specifically check out the section that discusses the motives of real estate agents.

The FACT is that DDMS is FULL of stuff that I'm pretty sure Dan doesn't make a cent on.  And does Capital One not have an affiliate program?

Offline Dan

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Re: Consumer Advocate Attacks Credit Card/Points Blogs
« Reply #19 on: February 05, 2015, 10:40:28 AM »
And does Capital One not have an affiliate program?
They do.

Regardless, what happened to personal responsibility?
It's a bloggers fault if you MS and don't pay your bills?
Save your time, I don't answer PM. Post it in the forum and a dedicated DDF'er will get back to you as soon as possible.