The Game – Am I For Real?

What kind of title is that? Well, I wrote that mainly to get your attention, but there is a method in my madness. The game is the miles and points game, and I was playing it before I even knew it was a game. Not too long ago, I wrote a piece entitled On Making Peace with Miles and Points–Seriously, It’s Time to Think About Tomorrow. That blog got a little attention based on my traffic data, and I continue to stand by what I said. The game is changing and there is nothing we can do about it except learn to play on a new level. There will still be value out there, and there are a lot of tools out there to help all of us find it.

Now, about playing the game and that being for real thing. I read a lot of blogs, forums, magazines, and newspapers in order to stay on top of all things travel. Not everything I read about makes it through to this space for a few reasons. First, I refuse to just repackage and restate what others have already said for the sake of tossing up a blog post. That doesn’t mean that I won’t offer my own take on things if there is some really big travel news being discussed in the blogosphere. Second, as a result of a confluence of events in my other life, I am not able to offer anything in the way of hard-hitting commentary in this space on the airline industry (as much as I’d really like to) and that carries over to their loyalty programs. Generalities, and the occasional trip report, sure, but no deep dives into airline operations or their mileage plans. Finally, if you are looking for a blog to offer you insights on how to manage applying for 14 credit cards a day based on who pulls credit reports from where, I’m afraid I can’t help you there either. Don’t get me wrong, I really was flipping cards before I knew it had a name, but that was one or two cards per year, not per week. I’ll certainly continue to apply for card products that are offering big bonus points from time to time, and I’ll share those experiences here.

With that as background, I suppose it’s fair to ask what the heck am I doing here? Well, travel is a lot bigger than a frequent flier program. There are hotels and hotel point programs galore, great rewards programs like Ultimate Rewards, and just in case you hadn’t noticed, I’m the only one around these parts that talks about cruising, and there’s lots of unexplored territory in that regard. Since my first post in August 2006, I’ve enjoyed sharing travel experiences here, and learning together. I’m looking forward to many more years of the same. And that’s the real deal. 🙂

-MJ, March 21, 2013