Why I Removed My Post This Morning

ByThe Miles Professor

As with anything in life, we are sometimes faced with difficult decisions and I had to make one today. In general, when it comes to a good deal, I try to exercise discretion. It may come as no surprise that I don’t post about everything I know when it comes to deals. Some deals are too sensitive to withstand mass distribution and some deals were told to me in secret and are simply not mine to share. When it comes to earning miles and points, there is a fine line between “sharing” and “sharing too much.”

This morning, I wrote about a slightly new to me deal I just happened to find myself randomly over the weekend and, personally, I found it far less lucrative than most deals I post about. There are ways to make it more lucrative, but that requires extra steps that I don’t consider efficient. Had someone shared this deal with me in secrecy and communicated to me its sensitivity, it would never have seen the light of day on this blog.  In addition, I considered this deal to be completely similar to a deal posted previously by other blogs far bigger than mine and another bigger blog posting this morning. In fact, it was almost the same deal. The similar deal was posted months ago and the deal did not die. For this reason, I determined it was “safe” to post about my deal. I may have been wrong, I may have been not. In my mind, I was only posting a slight variation of what everyone already knew and had survived the publicity. It’s hard to make a perfect decision every time.

When I posted the deal, many people reacted positively as they did, in fact, find a new potentially useful deal. But alas, there was negative reaction as well. People I had previously met in person who were perfectly nice people then suddenly turned into bullies on the internet. They tweeted, retweeted, commented. And perhaps I shouldn’t take it personally, but it’s hard not to. And it’s not that I don’t understand where they’re coming from; I do. But that’s not why I removed the post.

I removed the post because someone spoke and reasoned with me on a personal level. There is always a person behind that blog or that Twitter account. Someone I respect explained to me that he and his friends work hard at finding good deals and they depend on this deal and its ability to stay alive. They do see the deal as sensitive and their ability to continue the deal may genuinely get hurt by wide publicity. And I understood that and removed the post to protect them – not that it erases everything as I admit some damage was done. But to those who chose bullying over diplomacy, this person should serve as a role model and example – people on the internet are not targets to shoot arrows. People are people and diplomacy should come first. Take people aside and reason with them first. At least that’s what works with me… after all, I like to think I am reasonable and logical.

We will never know how sensitive this deal really was. One of my most popular deals (and one of my favorites) was about Paypal cards and, months later, I see no depleted stock in my local drugstores. I like to share information, but it’s always a difficult decision for what to share and what not to. I am thankful to all the readers and positive responses I received over the time running this website. It’s super fun and it does earn me a good profit for advertising and affiliate links, I am not ashamed to say. And while it’s nice to earn a commission, I will not do it at the expense of hurting people I respect. That’s all.

To those who were upset by my post, I’m sorry. That’s never my intention. To those who saw the post and know of the deal, as always, exercise caution when getting involved in any uncertain deals (and please don’t discuss it in the comments here nor popularize this post). Most importantly, to everyone, there is a community we have far beyond the blogs. Get to know like-minded people and share ideas as that’s the best way… to learn from each other as I do from all of you. That said, I do try to share my best ideas about travel – at least the ones I get around to writing about.

(And I will take this post soon too… because mainly, I just want this drama to be over).

60 Comments

  3. Miles Professor,

    I am sorry that you had to deal with. Honestly, I did not have a problem with the post. I understand that a lot of people are feeling a bit annoyed that so many great manufacture spending tools have disappeared because of people exploiting it to an extreme degree and scammers. It is an amazing experience to travel to these amazing place by doing x y and z. I would never have been able to go to these places on my income, which is why people are so sensitive to people talking so openly about these tools. Nonetheless, there will always be another MF spend tool in the future is how I do with the fact that there are no more VRs. I enjoy your blogs on a side note. Thanks!

  4. Very respectable position. I definitely understand why it was difficult. Wish people weren’t so dramatic.

  5. I didn’t think you needed to…plenty of people know of the location to buy GC and MMS even talked about it…to me it wasnt really a secret

    1. Not just MMS, but if the article was about what I assume it was from partial google cache, it’s mentioned on another Boarding Area blog TODAY. And that blog post was linked to in Gary Leff’s summary post as well. And there’s a rather long thread on FlyerTalk discussing it. And….

  6. Would love to know what the personal level discussion was; without that it really does look like you succumbed to useless bullying about people afraid to lose out on their schemes.

  7. Enough with the sensitivity people! It is like hoarding. Sharing is what makes this viable for us. It is understandable some information should be limited. There is no room for drama or to deal with the greed of others in this arena. You do a wonderful job at this blog and I enjoy all the effort and steps you take to please so many. Unfortunately, some will always be displeased by nature. Sorry you had to waste time dealing and the daggers today. Thank you for being the highlight of my blog reading.

  8. I appreciate your posts, very much! Your information is very useful and, I’m sure takes a lot of time to keep travelers informed. For myself, I can’t thank you enough!!
    Please keep it up, I’m new to the Miles Professor, and look forward to more.

  10. It’s funny (not really) how some people turn into bullies over the internet, The physical distance (or anonymity) either makes them brave or just not think like they would talking person to person. It’s the dark side of the internet and I have seen people (too young or otherwise unequipped) hurt by it.

  11. It’s disappointing to see what trolls people can be online. The decision of what to post should be at the discretion of the writer especially if it is something you figured out yourself.

  12. You have done a really ,really good job ! Your posts have been really helpful and you are the miles professor no matter what others have to say!
    Wish others were not so greedy!

  13. I don’t think you should have removed the post at the whim of a few people who want to keep these schemes to themselves.

  15. Holy crap. All the support you get is from the people who expect to be spoonfed by bloggers…

    “They a greedy blablabla”

    Those people put the work into it. How many of you go out there and spend time trying stuff? For some people, it’s their full time job. So please respect it. If you have other things to do and wait to be spoon fed by a blogger then don’t call them names.

    Thumbs up for the post, thumbs down from all the commenters

  16. I love all the white knights in the comments. 1. She gave incorrect information in her post. 2. All the information she gave was a YMMV type of thing.

    Just because she gave a hat tip to some other blogger (MMS, really?!) doesn’t mean that there was factual information. I thought the Professor was great too. But throwing out some faulty information while also plugging your referral is just over the top.

  17. I’m surprised you got a lot of flak about this. I’ve been using this method for months but only learned about it from blogs just like this.

  18. so what was the trick? can you share over email? (don’t worry, I’m not a blogger nor am I popular ;)

  19. Listen to what your heart tells you it’s all a game and I’m thankful you know how to play it!! I like your input and it saves me time and thousands of dollars!! I actually have a question for you if you could message me or email me!!. Thank you Mike walton

  20. First, nice post.

    Second, to the person you talked to about this please tell him/her, thanks!

    Third, yes damage was done. The post was not necessary and it should not be coming from a person who speaks at Saverocity events. It had factual information wrong and expertly marketed the Barclays Arrival card (at least it was not the Lufthansa card).

    Fourth, as bloggers we put ourselves out there. If you can not take the constructive criticism I am sorry. I was called a selfish douche bag yesterday and a commenter in my blog seems fascinated by my ass…so this stuff comes with the territory.

    Fifth, Paypal blows.

    Sixth, I forgot.

    Go Barclays!

    1. If TMP was truly interested in being a good steward, why not just point to the FT thread and let those who are interested to do a bit of investigation on their own rather than spoon feed the lazy and ignorant (which seem to be the vast majority of blog readers unfortunately)? But we know it’s all about the CC pimping and desire for conver$ion$ that the pimps use to justify their selfish actions. It’s a community right up until $$$ is involved. Then it’s “lookin’ out for #1 and the rest of you be damned!”

      And yes, PayPal blows and that’s why nobody cared that she “revealed” it.

      1. Keeping information for the few or the in crowd is just as selfish as CC pimping. I like to know who gets to play The Wise Solomon and decide which of us can handle information and which group are the lazy, ignorant readers?
        I have had to hustle for information and other times I appreciated a blogger writing about a deal and getting it the easy way. Bloggers are just following the laws of capitalism. By increasing traffic to their site by giving out information they sell thier links.
        If anyone who says they don’t ever like getting it the easyway, I would question their honesty. I repeat, i like the blog but felt it was weak to take in down and succumb.

        1. Anyone gets to play just read flyer talk and network with your peers, and all is shared.

    2. tbb – I really think you went too far this time. There’s constructive criticism and there’s outright bullying. If you wanted to give constructive criticism, you’d have done it nicely or in private rather than raising an army with pitchforks. Hang in there, TMP. You do it right and I hope you make a good business of this blog.

    3. I stand by 100% that my post was factually true. I verified everything I said 100% as I do with every strategy I write about. If something was written confusingly, I made sure to take responsibility and clarify exactly what did and did not work and to give warning. However, given you got wrong the source of my deal I gave in the post, I believe you likely didn’t read it and filled in the blanks after the fact.

      Lastly, as always, anyone who disagrees with me, I am willing to listen as I did with the person who reasoned with me. I will always believe that diplomacy is the way to implement change, if that’s really the intention here.

      You may not like Paypal, but mine is a good highly profitable strategy for those who undertook it. :) It’s not for everyone, of course, but I for one am happy with it.

  22. travelbloggerbuzz – So being called a “selfish douche bag” was constructive?

    1. Of course not. But commmenter also had some positions which I considered and did not agree with them. And on it goes…

      My point was the internet is a big big place and you will get a lot of things thrown at you that will leave you scratching your head. Being called that sure made me laugh so I thank the commenter who made me laugh.

      By the way, I have no relationship with any credit card providers :-)

  23. I disagree with your decision to take down the post. I used to be a part-time professional gambler, and the dynamics of finding great opportunities are very similar to what you’re saying here. Eventually great deals get more widely known and are burned out. When that happens, you go looking for something else good. That’s just the way it is. No one has the right to exclusive ownership of a deal, even if they discovered it first. If you find a great gambling play, your best option is to milk it for all it’s worth and tell no one. But eventually someone else will discover it, and tell one or two more people, and on and on until it burns out. Beatable slots lasted at least four years; this may, too. But once you personally have let it out, I think it’s wrong to try to stick the genie back in the bottle given that whoever reasoned with you has no right to near-exclusivity on that deal.

  24. Sorry to hear you took the original post down. It was good information. The reason I look at your blog is for information that you posted today. I am not going to run out and do it, nor will most who read your blog. I will consider it if I am near or at an appropriate mall. I prefer open, upfront bloggers, and think most of the readers do too.

  26. Please, tell us more about these people “depending” on a deal to stay alive. Do they eat the cards for sustenance? Do they live gift card to gift card trying to keep the electricity on?

    I didn’t even bother clicking on your post in the reader because I saw the first paragraph and this is old news. It has been on FT for a couple months, out in the clear, so I’m not sure the secrecy or pushback here. If it was truely an honest attempt to share a finding – great. If it was a shameless attempt to justify a spend for a card affiliate link using a method learned from FT or a DO, no comment.

  27. Long time reader and rare commenter. I really dig your blog and the sincere post. Very classy. I kind of have a crush on you after that post, actually. I’ve been into small time MS for about a year. I knew about this “deal” and have such a location to purchase the GCs three miles from my house. I just hate going to Wally’s in my city. Hate it. Won’t do it so I don’t even use BB. I’d rather get my 5x via the interwebz (among other ways) and delivered to my doorstep.

    Keep your head up and trust your gut.

  28. How’s even a secret when people share via forum and blog? It’s call welcome 21 century world of social media!

  29. You should never be influenced by the idiot/bullies out there who are tweeting from their mother’s basement. Stand by your convictions. Your readers will appreciate you for it. A lot of these fools think they’ve gamed the system or reinvented the wheel. If I was a compassionate person, I’d feel sorry for them.

  30. Hi Inna, Love your blog, but you should not have allowed yourself be censored in this manner. You started your blog, like other bloggers, as a business to provide information. This idea was no big secret…

  31. Wow. The censorship is insane. I know you’re reading these before you post them.
    I’ll spread the word that you can’t stomach the truth.

  32. I’ve lost my respect for you and this blog. You might as well just stop now if you are going to cave. They’re laughing at you now.

  33. LOL I was wondering how you managed to post that and keep MM happy but I guess he was not so happy after all. FWIW I didn’t think there was anything wrong with the post

  34. That is just horse crap… I can’t believe that you have to go through this drama. I personally love your blog and I hope this idiocy won’t deter you from future awesome posts. Everyone is a bad ass behind a computer on the Internet..and Twitter encourages bullies to be evil behind the cloak of Internet anonymity. Keep up your great work Professor… you have a supporter in me and from what I see in the comments section so far.. a lot of other supporters!

  35. If you felt it, then wrote it, and then posted it, you are more than justified to leave it up. There is a segment of this community that believes they know what is best for everybody. They act superior and most unfortunately, think they should influence your decisions and guide your actions. You are accountable for your own actions and behavior. If you want to post something “Post It” and let it stand.

    You want to apply for a credit card, apply for it. You want to apply for seven credit cards, apply for them. If you are willing to stand by your own “personal accountability” (they hate that concept), you will always be you and true.

    Put the post back up.

  36. I don’t understand what the problem is…I first saw that MS option a while back (months ago), it’s not new, you didn’t discover it..no big deal.

  37. All of this drama is ridiculous. You have a blog. Your blog is to impart information and also to educate your readers on certain topics. You did that.

    Perhaps a small fraction of the information in your original post was incorrect – I don’t recall. Yet, that’s not what generated the anger. The sharing of a deal which might possibly shorten its life – that’s what created the s%!&strorm.

    So, basically, it comes down to selfishness. You angered those who prefer to keep information to themselves for their own benefit. Which ONE of them originally found the deal and how many of the others were recipients of shared information which allow THEM to benefit from it??? It was OK to share with them but not the unwashed masses!! Please … give me a break.

    So, then you got intimidated and removed the post. Yes, that’s the ideals of freedom of speech and freedom of the press that’s helped make our country … oh, wait, never mind.

    You may choose to withhold information, deals, etc. That’s your right … but not necessarily the right thing to do. As for me, I prefer blogs that openly impart information and encourage discussion, and THOSE are the blogs I choose to reward by clicking on affiliate links.

  38. Tmp

    Unfortunately you have set a precedent. By taking down your post you have empowered the minority of critics. Give in once and a bully will never be satisfied they will just get bolder and bolder. If you do not fight back it will get worse and worse. You will lose those people you were trying to gain approval from as they had their own agenda from the beginning.

  39. Inna, it was great meeting you at FTU Advanced. I read your original post and did not find it particularly earth-shattering, so am surprised by the reaction. Certainly not as interesting at least as the ROI for Kiva that you shared wih us at FTU Adv, which does sound like it gives better returns for the time spent. Plus helping people in the process. 

  42. I don’t personally buy into the notion that it is OK to talk about something because another one already has, because as a concept each time that something comes up it does risk exposing more newbies to the danger of float lock up, fraud, loss, theft etc. Just because someone else said it before, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t do harm.

    But that said, I think the reaction was very over the top, and if people disagreed with the content then it could have been resolved in a more mature and practical manner. It did feel like bullying to me.

    And while we are talking about bullying, I see more of it happening here in the comments. Not everyone for sure, but I can see people are playing agenda’s again, and attempting to make someone feel weak or insecure for changing their mind. This is as bad as bullying to take it down, and you guys should be ashamed of yourselves too.

    Ultimately, MP stated that she pulled down this post out of respect for someone who asked her nicely. I have done the same thing in the past, and showing respect and empathy to someone who shares their position with you should not be derided, it should be respected.

    We need a lot more respect around here.

  43. Maybe not bullied but diplomatically manipulated. Look, everything on FT is public info. If you want to do MS, you can do a search on Google for MS tricks and up pops FT links direct to the forums. Bottom line, you are simply disseminating public internet info on your own blog which is free and available to anyone. You owe nothing to anyone, you owe no debt to other bloggers or FT writers or whiny MSers. They are all self serving. Even Marathon Man who always shows off on his MS volume has received many ideas from others who shared whether on blogs or FT. I guarantee it. No MSer has been successful solely from their own discoveries. Plus what you wrote about was innocuous from an MS standpoint. I bet it was Marathon Man who beat you down, am I right? He seems to preach everywhere about keeping deals secret so he can continue his $2M a month MS. Talk about someone killing deals!

  44. I do not know the Miles Professor on a personal level. I read, subscribe and like her blog. It us never my intention in any comment to injure a person in a personal way but to disagree with the argurement regardless of the reasoning, I apologize if any of my comments upset her or rightfully so her friends. Yes, she said she took it down because as a personal favor to a friend and I appreciate Matt your willingness to defend a friend. However, that does not make her decision the right one. Just right for her and those who agree with that decision. She also in her statement made it sound like she was bullied into it as well. I disagree with her for taking down the post as I feel she has a responsibility to a wider readership than one friend. A readership that hopefully can provide her with extra income. I felt doing so did not show her in a favorable light on this issue and ONLY this issue. Yet, i respect her choice to do what she wants as it is her blog and others to agree with her. i will continue to subscribe and read her blog. Shame and guilt seem to have Catholic overtones as an Italian long ago Catholic it brough a smile to my face as I am not one to rail against theatrical drama.
    In the end, you cannot please everybody but I believe a guy they called Billy once said “To thine own self be true”.

  45. To everyone who commented and shared your thoughts, thank you so much! To all my supporters, it means so much to hear all your positive words… even those who disagree with the decision. To the non-supporters, I appreciate the feedback as well. As always, decisions are difficult and I take into account everyone’s valid points where my responsibilities lie. I always try to learn from my experiences and the thoughtful discussion in these comments definitely helps me shape where I stand on the issues. Thank you again!

  46. Can’t make everyone happy so don’t even try. Keep posting what you want.

    I saw the post and deleted it because there are already better deals out there. So for me, it was no big deal. Very surprised by the negative reaction.

  47. There are a lot of people out there who feel deals should be distributed exactly until the point that they reach them, then it’s “hush hush” after that. There’s no need to keep the secrets that that kind of person needs kept.

  48. It reminds me of those who are offended at the nude beaches………or blush at the thongs or grape huggers……..I find the transparency refreshing but there is a moral high mindness that wants every blogger to only post “acceptable” MS………that is an unenviable task but you should be lauded in your attempts to find that “impossible perfection”……….

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