The (Honest) State Of Travel & Points Blogging

The (Honest) State Of Travel & Points Blogging

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I’ve been blogging full time for over 17 years. A lot has changed in the travel & points blogging landscape in that time, between the increasing popularity of the points hobby, the way that media consumption has changed, and more. I thought this would be an interesting time to reflect on the overall state of this “industry,” if you will.

I imagine some bloggers will have similar takes, while others will have different takes, and I of course welcome their thoughts as well. Part of the purpose of this post is to explain the overall content mix you may find on the blogs that you frequent.

Some background on how OMAAT started

For some background, I started this blog as a hobby while in college, and for a long time I didn’t make any money on it. I never planned on making it a career, and for that matter, I’ve never really had a business plan for the blog, and have never had any desire to sell the site (which, it’s weird to me that selling a blog is even a thing, but…).

The travel & points industry is my passion, plain and simple, and I wake up every day looking to this as an escape. While I’m fortunate that this is also my career, the reality is that my day-to-day really isn’t very commercially focused. When “working,” I spend 95% of my time actually working on content, rather than being focused on the business side of things.

The reason I can write this blog every single day of my life and be happy with it is because it’s my passion and not my job. With that out of the way…

Lufthansa First Class Terminal ducks, just because

The complicated travel & points blog landscape

Back when I started blogging over 17 years ago, this wasn’t a very crowded space. There were very few blogs, and even fewer blogs from back then that are still around nowadays. Over the years, a countless number of independent blogs popped up, and that’s fantastic.

Some didn’t last for long (not realizing it takes a lot of work and consistent effort to be successful), while others are still around today, typically because they have persistence and a unique angle. I’m very supportive of anyone who wants to try their hand at blogging.

However, there’s no denying that this space has become much more challenging over the years for just about everyone, due to a variety of factors:

  • As anyone who publishes content online can attest to, search traffic has decreased greatly, due to Google’s AI Mode (and other similar features), which summarizes answers to questions, rather than linking to actual content
  • The way that people consume media has evolved, especially with younger generations getting news via short form video on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, etc.; I’m actually going to talk about this in more detail in a separate post, because there are some concepts I’m exploring, and that I’d like feedback on
  • We’ve seen multiple travel blogs sold, including to huge media companies, venture capital companies, etc.; there’s nothing wrong with that, but their goals are almost always focused around revenue rather than profit, meaning they might spend millions per year buying online ads
  • We’ve seen mainstream media news sites get into the travel story and credit card rewards space, as this just has much broader appeal than it used to
  • We’ve seen all kinds of sites pop up that are so clearly exclusively about SEO

To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with any of the above concepts. My point is simply to say that this space is a lot more challenging than it was a long time ago. Just as the miles & points space has changed a lot over the years, so has the blogging industry.

I think it’s also why we’ve increasingly seen some sites change how they’re monetized. We’re increasingly seeing sites either offer a membership where content is behind a paywall, or introduce other paid services to generate revenue.

Are you even a points blogger if you haven’t stayed at the Park Hyatt Paris?!

Why travel & points blogs have the content that they do

Let me be brutally transparent here. I’m sure this is something that other bloggers can relate to, and it might explain the overall mix of content you see on points & travel blogs.

If you look at the comments section of blogs, you’ll see comments along the lines of “this isn’t the content I come here for,” no matter what the topic is. That’s totally fair, because after all, everyone is looking for different content. But I think it’s important to understand and consider how people make a living.

For example, my absolute favorite kind of content is airline and hotel reviews, because that’s what I’m most passionate about. I think what most people don’t realize is that those reviews don’t directly pay the bills. They’re hard to monetize, they’re a massive investment in terms of time (traveling and writing) and money (travel typically isn’t free!), and they don’t get nearly as much traffic as some other types of posts. So where’s the value in them?

  • Many of us are huge huge airline and hotel product geeks, and find writing these reviews to be enjoyable, regardless of whether or not the math works out; you don’t understand how giddy I get when I get to fly a new airline, no matter how bad it may be
  • Many bloggers realize how much readers enjoy trip reports, and view it as an overall good investment in getting people to read and support the blog
  • It’s useful to be well versed in what airlines and hotels are offering; after all, that knowledge is what sets peoples’ insights apart

Beyond trip reports, you have what you might consider to be “monetized” posts, about products. There’s money to be made there, but it’s probably not as lucrative as you’d think, or at least it takes a lot more effort than you’d expect.

Like I mentioned above, it’s hard to compete on SEO with major news sites, and you have other sites spending endless money on ads related to these products. As far as a readership base goes, well, if you’ve written about a product often enough, odds are that they already have it.

This gets at my above point about trip reports. You hope that people enjoy some content on a blog, and will then support you the next time they want to pick up one of these products, or just keep reading in general.

Then you have what some people consider to be clickbait stories. There are some blogs that almost exclusively post these, and they come in varying forms. There are a few things to understand about those:

  • These can get an absolutely unbelievable amount of traffic, especially for smaller sites, that don’t have a very high base level of traffic; these kinds of posts can easily get exponentially more traffic than your typical post
  • These really aren’t intended for the actual audience of a blog, because these are all about generating traffic from elsewhere
  • These are often the easiest to write, because they’re not a huge time investment

Do I post these stories sometimes? Yes, of course, though as a percentage of content, not nearly as much as some other sites. Do I enjoy writing these posts? It depends. I make my best effort to only write about stories if I personally find them to be interesting, or if I’d enjoy reading them elsewhere. However, maybe I don’t always get that right.

I’m fortunate that my blog gets a good amount of traffic to begin with, but for many smaller sites, it’s extremely common that a single “clickbait” post gets as much traffic as the entire site otherwise gets in a month. This is the primary way that many sites can be monetized — some will write content hoping that one post breaks through and goes viral. It’s not only about the direct monetization of that traffic, though — many readers who find a viral post may bookmark a site and become readers for years to come.

None of that is to say that sites should or shouldn’t have clickbait, or that it’s a great idea, or anything. Rather, I’m just saying that making money on the internet is hard, especially if you don’t want to put stuff behind a paywall. And unfortunately often the stories that require the least effort generate the most traffic, and for many blogs these are the posts that pay the bills.

If I approached this blog strictly as a business, I’d just write clickbait stories all day, as that would almost certainly lead to the most readership, and it would take a lot less effort. However, part of what has made this business sustainable for me is that it’s also my passion, and I get up every day thinking about airlines. I wouldn’t be able to do this seven days a week for 17 years if I didn’t love it.

Talking about Turkmenistan Airlines or TAAG Angola Airlines? OMG, that gets me excited. Someone stripping naked in an airport terminal? That doesn’t interest me as much…

Not much excites me more than trying a new airline!

Bottom line

The travel & points blog space has evolved a lot over the years, for better and worse. Making money running an independent blog isn’t easy, though I hope the above at least provides some context on why you may see the content mix that you see on various sites.

In closing, I just want to express my gratitude to those who have been reading OMAAT over the years. I feel blessed beyond words to be able to get up every day and just play around with my favorite “hobby” and have it also be my career. I recognize not everyone is always going to be happy, and also that content won’t always be equally good.

We have our good days and bad days, or perhaps even good years and bad years. It has certainly been a challenging few years for me in terms of travel, between my mom being sick, and now having two kids. That being said, I’ve done what I can to greatly increase my number of review trips, and also have a lot of travel planned for the second half of the year.

At the end of the day, what makes blogging most rewarding is those who read and interact, and genuinely enjoy the content, recognizing that no one who puts themselves out there is always going to get things right.

As always, I welcome feedback, and of course would also love to hear from other bloggers about how their experiences differ.

Conversations (54)
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  1. Christian Guest

    I've been reading your blog and commenting for around 15 years now. I'm remembering when your blog was small enough that you replied to virtually every comment. I find this piece to be interesting, providing a peek behind the curtain so to speak. It's tough to scale up and frankly I think AI is a huge threat to your industry. Even BA has an AI blog that I purposely never read as I find it...

    I've been reading your blog and commenting for around 15 years now. I'm remembering when your blog was small enough that you replied to virtually every comment. I find this piece to be interesting, providing a peek behind the curtain so to speak. It's tough to scale up and frankly I think AI is a huge threat to your industry. Even BA has an AI blog that I purposely never read as I find it disingenuous for AI to tell me about bed comfort or how good breakfast is at a certain hotel. Chin up and keep going. You've made it this far.

  2. Paul Alexander Guest

    I love your blog and so does my husband. It is perfect the way it is!!!! I appreciate how hard it must be to balance your family life (with your mother and two children) with this blog. Keep up the amazing work!! Thank you for all you do!

  3. John Guest

    Honestly, I think this is not a bad blog (you're light-years ahead of Gary's VFTW), despite a good amount of commercial stuff (click bait, pushing CC's, etc.). Overall, I do buy your angle, though. You come across as authentic and genuine which I enjoy.

    All things considered, I am probably not someone that's solidly profitable for you. You know, I'm not US-based, so many your more referral-oriented stories do not really appeal to me (you...

    Honestly, I think this is not a bad blog (you're light-years ahead of Gary's VFTW), despite a good amount of commercial stuff (click bait, pushing CC's, etc.). Overall, I do buy your angle, though. You come across as authentic and genuine which I enjoy.

    All things considered, I am probably not someone that's solidly profitable for you. You know, I'm not US-based, so many your more referral-oriented stories do not really appeal to me (you know, I might not even be able to apply for the CC in question).

    Taking it all together, I'm grateful for the site, though. You know, there is some noise, but also some creative, quality content. The mix between commercial and enthusiast is fine.

  4. Kaleb_With_A_K Diamond

    This is still my favorite travel blog of all time. Keep it up, Ben! Here’s to another 17 years of amazing posts!

  5. TravelCat2 Diamond

    Very interesting post, Ben. I truly appreciate what you do. I learn something new and useful regularly from your blog. I regularly share your content with my friends and family. Your reviews make for great reading.

    This is the only website of its genre where the comments often contain useful information (e.g from Sean M.). Your recent comments / commenter cleanup has really made a difference.

    Thanks so much for what you do. My best...

    Very interesting post, Ben. I truly appreciate what you do. I learn something new and useful regularly from your blog. I regularly share your content with my friends and family. Your reviews make for great reading.

    This is the only website of its genre where the comments often contain useful information (e.g from Sean M.). Your recent comments / commenter cleanup has really made a difference.

    Thanks so much for what you do. My best to you and your family. And stay away from CAI!

  6. Kneemuh Member

    Reading your blog has been an integral part of my daily routine for each of those 17 years. Can't imagine a world without it. Thank you, Ben!

  7. Gents Guest

    Ben,

    I appreciate the transparency and clarity here. OMAAT is my first stop. I enjoy the way in which you write, and I appreciate the fact that there's still some authenticity here. When I search the web for an airline product review, I'm really looking for the OMAAT review. I read every day, but I don't comment often. Thanks very much for what you do every day.

  8. Chris Guest

    Ben, thank you for your articles which are always well researched and informative. Even though some of the articles may not be of direct relevance to me, I tend to read everything since you never know what might be useful. It is also helpful to be able to look back at past articles for a particular review of a hotel or airline so the historical archive is useful. I also appreciate that you work hard...

    Ben, thank you for your articles which are always well researched and informative. Even though some of the articles may not be of direct relevance to me, I tend to read everything since you never know what might be useful. It is also helpful to be able to look back at past articles for a particular review of a hotel or airline so the historical archive is useful. I also appreciate that you work hard at being fair and presenting an unbiased report. It's great that you have been able to get income from this work and I hope it continues to be worthwhile so you can keep writing these articles for this community.

  9. Justin Guest

    Thank you for this interesting assessment. Like you, my favorite part of these types of blogs are the actual hotel and airline reviews, of which I feel that you are the best (airlines especially). I try not to click on the clickbait articles but must concede to occasionally doing so. Your colleague at Live and Lets Fly has been saying for years that the clickbait is what pays the bills and gets far more clicks...

    Thank you for this interesting assessment. Like you, my favorite part of these types of blogs are the actual hotel and airline reviews, of which I feel that you are the best (airlines especially). I try not to click on the clickbait articles but must concede to occasionally doing so. Your colleague at Live and Lets Fly has been saying for years that the clickbait is what pays the bills and gets far more clicks than the reviews, so your assessment comes as no surprise and reinforces my understanding of why it is included. This sounds a lot like the whole news and journalism industry. For decades the hard journalism was effectively subsidized by the soft content: comics, sports, opinion, ads and classifieds. The journalism was the "vegetables" you had to eat to get at the junk food. But now, new media models, especially social media can just give you the junk while bypassing the good-for-you content and hard journalism is foundering trying to find new funding models.

  10. CJ Guest

    Great post and like others have already stated - a big THANK YOU for what you do!! I've learned lots about airlines and hotels from your posts.

    With that being said, let me be devil's advocate for a minute. I don't agree when you use the term "trip report". Like a previous reader stated, I do miss Tiffany's reports because her posts were true trip reports in the sense of reporting on the actual...

    Great post and like others have already stated - a big THANK YOU for what you do!! I've learned lots about airlines and hotels from your posts.

    With that being said, let me be devil's advocate for a minute. I don't agree when you use the term "trip report". Like a previous reader stated, I do miss Tiffany's reports because her posts were true trip reports in the sense of reporting on the actual destination (i.e. local restaurants, adventures, activities, etc., etc.) as opposed to just the airline that got you to your destination and the hotel in which you stayed. I wish you would stop booking so many hotels through the various programs which get you f&b credits. I think this puts an obligation on you to only eat in the hotel restaurant. I would love nothing more to read, for example, "right around the corner from Hotel ABC is the best little Italian restaurant"....or "while I was staying at Hotel XYZ, I made time to catch a local festival that was going on"..... Those are true trip reports - as opposed to airline/hotel reviews. Granted, I know your bread and butter are the hotel/airline reviews. All I'm saying is that every once in a while, it would be nice to have a full trip report from you which includes reviews of things outside the confines of Hotel XYZ. Give us a true flavor of the destination!!

    Not complaining, just suggesting ways to take your blog to the next level. Keep up the great work!!

    1. Aaron Guest

      Come to think of it, back in the day Lucky would give a whole post about some of the cities he would visit. We don’t see much of those anymore.

  11. Peter Guest

    Such a pleasure to read your thoughts. Keep doing what you are passionate about. The rest will follow.

    Obviously you tried your hand at youtube over half a decade ago. But you have to be passionate about that type of content creation. And it's an especially oversaturated market there too.

    That said, I personally think you should double down on riveting content like the Singing Amtrak Cafe Car Attendant short. Although we all know that...

    Such a pleasure to read your thoughts. Keep doing what you are passionate about. The rest will follow.

    Obviously you tried your hand at youtube over half a decade ago. But you have to be passionate about that type of content creation. And it's an especially oversaturated market there too.

    That said, I personally think you should double down on riveting content like the Singing Amtrak Cafe Car Attendant short. Although we all know that shorts are impossible to monetize, so better off to go with the shorter duration but full youtube video Four Points by Sheraton Air Conditioner! :-)

    A little bit in jest obviously, but mostly not, because there's an authenticity about those videos. Almost feels like you should "launch a codeshare" with an authentic youtuber and cross-promote what you are each already doing (The Flip Flop Traveler comes to mind for some reason).

    Whatever you do, lots of people are rooting for you. And if you enjoy what you do, you'll never work a day in your life!

  12. Japan Starts Here Guest

    I wish average internet users were aware of just how close the web as we know it is to extinction.

    Once Google replaces all “blue links” with AI overviews and snippets, virtually every website not owned by a huge corporation will cease production within months, if not weeks.

    Things are this precarious now, and Google has only barely started its transition to full “AI mode.”

    Many of your favorite websites won’t even exist this...

    I wish average internet users were aware of just how close the web as we know it is to extinction.

    Once Google replaces all “blue links” with AI overviews and snippets, virtually every website not owned by a huge corporation will cease production within months, if not weeks.

    Things are this precarious now, and Google has only barely started its transition to full “AI mode.”

    Many of your favorite websites won’t even exist this time next year. Social media and email marketing simply cannot come close to replacing the scale of organic search traffic, nor the ad revenue it generates.

    I guess Ben will hold on longer than that, but many can’t or won’t. Enjoy the quasi-relevant clickbait while you can.

  13. Eric Guest

    I haven't applied for a card in a couple of years (as someone else mentioned, credit card fatigue is real) but I did historically try to do those through OMAAT if the public sign up bonus through your link was the best.

    But lately I have booked three luxury hotel stays through Ford as my way of giving back for ~10+ years of readership. So hopefully that also "counts" as a revenue stream for you.

  14. James S Guest

    As a millennial who has hated how the internet has changed over the last decade, I really do appreciate you continuing to do this.

    1. Aaron Guest

      Imagine being a Gen Xer and seeing how the internet has changed over the last 3 decades ;)

  15. JustinB Diamond

    For what it’s worth, with the changing landscape and all, I’d be happy to pay a modest subscription fee, even if the content remains available for all (ad free website?!?). I don’t use social media so this is my only consumption method.

  16. Peking_Duck Guest

    Thanks for what you do Ben.

  17. iv Guest

    Ben, I've always enjoyed your blog. In fact it's the only one I've ever bookmarked on my browser. Have you ever considered doing a podcast? You can have guests from airlines, hotels etc... providing insight into their product and even answer questions from blog readers like myself.

  18. CamS Guest

    Love this post! Thank you for everything you do! I enjoy reading your blog every day and find immense value in it : )

  19. StarGoldUA Guest

    Got connected to you electronically over a couple decades ago at FT, through your user handle, as you had kindly responded to a query I had made about trying to earn for EQMs . Thank you for that and all the hard work since then

  20. Aaron Guest

    One other way things have changed is many trip reports can mow be found on Youtube…it would be interesting to know how much more lucrative that can be than doing a standard blog like this (though lets be real, a good part of monetzing sites like this comes from cc and other deal referrals Lucky and others get…and at least Lucky hasn’t gone as overboard as some other sites, like TPG).

    2 things I remember...

    One other way things have changed is many trip reports can mow be found on Youtube…it would be interesting to know how much more lucrative that can be than doing a standard blog like this (though lets be real, a good part of monetzing sites like this comes from cc and other deal referrals Lucky and others get…and at least Lucky hasn’t gone as overboard as some other sites, like TPG).

    2 things I remember about this site that probbapy date me, but I remember when

    1) Lucky’s biggest peeve would be the FA serving him a slice of lemon instead of the requested slice of lime with his Diet Coke
    2) Lucky would have a post with a picture from somewhere in the world titled “Where is this?” for us to guess.

    1. UncleRonnie Diamond

      Please no!! There are 100s of YouTube channels doing this travel thing, but the number of blogs with adults commenting useful info below each article each day is dwindling. @Lucky don’t change your media format, this one still works for 1000s of us each day.

    2. Dusty Guest

      Agreed with Ronnie. I like reading the trip reports. My Youtube consumption is primarily full blown documentaries and sailing vlogs, where the visual is much more important. I'd also think that given all the video editing that goes into a vlog, it might be more overhead for Ben than typing an essay to go with his oodles of photos, not to mention more possibly of conflict/pushback by crew a-la the Kuwait posts. Not to mention...

      Agreed with Ronnie. I like reading the trip reports. My Youtube consumption is primarily full blown documentaries and sailing vlogs, where the visual is much more important. I'd also think that given all the video editing that goes into a vlog, it might be more overhead for Ben than typing an essay to go with his oodles of photos, not to mention more possibly of conflict/pushback by crew a-la the Kuwait posts. Not to mention Youtube's comment system is absolute trash to begin with, and flooded with bots to boot.

  21. Jb Guest

    Given the downfall/toxicity of social media I have found discord communities centered around a podcast to be a lot of fun, and from their perspective it’s a way to monetize dedicated readers who share the same passion - is this something you have considered?

  22. Sam Guest

    Thank you for being such a great blogger for all of these years. As others have sold out, you've kept up and provide excellent reviews of flights and hotels that aren't as easy to find these days. Here's to another 17 more!

  23. JFK2LHR Guest

    Ben, thank you for this behind the scenes look at the industry. Dont think anyone comes close to you in the detail provided in the reviews. Very much appreciated.
    I remember Ford once writing that you almost cut off his arm for touching his meal before you had a chance to take a pic! Too funny. Keep up the great work.

  24. Likes-to-fly Diamond

    - First, a big thank you for your website. I learned a lot from your blog and it had a significant influence on my choice of airlines and ticket buying.
    - Secondly, just recently I was wondering whether your business is as lucrative as it used to be years ago, precisely of what you are writing about in this article. It definitely has changed, as you illustrate it.
    - Thirdly, for some of...

    - First, a big thank you for your website. I learned a lot from your blog and it had a significant influence on my choice of airlines and ticket buying.
    - Secondly, just recently I was wondering whether your business is as lucrative as it used to be years ago, precisely of what you are writing about in this article. It definitely has changed, as you illustrate it.
    - Thirdly, for some of us old guys that are fortunate enough to afford to travel around the world, I guess subscription model in some form would be acceptable, but I doubt you would get the same traction and fun from it.

    - So finally, just to say that a lot of us appreciate what you do and hope that you continue doing so.

  25. Harold Guest

    dont mind the odd clickbait post- the real scourge is the absolute deluge of instagram points accounts, most of which are not very knowledgeable into the minutiae of the hobby. They did one chase to Hyatt transfer and think they are experts and start shilling cards and hawking affiliate links without actually knowing much.

    Its honestly shocking to see how bad its gotten.

  26. Dusty Guest

    Thanks for the breakdown of where you're at. I'm not a blogger or content creator, but the first point about Google's AI summaries resonates with me. And honestly to go further, Google has broken the usefulness of their search engine to drive ad and sponsored link revenue rather than showing you the most relevant results. It used to be far easier to get relevant information to your query on the first page, and as part...

    Thanks for the breakdown of where you're at. I'm not a blogger or content creator, but the first point about Google's AI summaries resonates with me. And honestly to go further, Google has broken the usefulness of their search engine to drive ad and sponsored link revenue rather than showing you the most relevant results. It used to be far easier to get relevant information to your query on the first page, and as part of that there used to be a much wider variety of sites, especially things like online forums dedicated to all sorts of esoteric topics, which provided both answers to the query and wealth of context too.

    Google's dominant position in the search engine space has given them the ability to direct searchers to their corporate affiliates while burying those more useful websites to the point of destroying them. This is a big part of the reason I read and post here. In addition to just the wealth of information on point earning and redemption and airline experiences, you keep it real instead of sensationalizing it, and I appreciate that.

  27. HonzaK Guest

    Very interesting, thanks! To be honest I am kind happy for the “clickbait” posts, as you usually do like 1 per day or so. If you decided to do only this, I would not come here.
    Apart from the reviews I also very much enjoy the industry news and the fact you always add you opinion or point of view. You are knowledgeable and it really ads the value. That is the reason I come here every single day for 10 years or so. Thanks for what you do!

  28. pstm91 Diamond

    The majority of my Google searches are "XYZ Airline business class OMAAT" - when I am not sure about a particular product. It's the only blog I trust and that's thanks to your incredible reviews. Thanks for all the years of reading!

    1. Lukas Diamond

      Another trick - Ben's search engine SUCKS BALLS so when I need to find anything on his site I google "xxx site:onemilatatime.com" and it gives me search results quickly and most importantly, I can actually find what I'm looking for.

    2. JustinB Diamond

      100%! And I’m always sad when I google x airline/hotel omaat and nothing pops up

  29. Jack Guest

    Love this post, super informative background. For me, I'll say that while they may not be the most lucrative, your trip reports have the highest value for me as a long-time follower. If I'm looking for an airline or hotel review, you are where I go first and have for a long time. Not only do you have a huge inventory of reviews, but I know I can trust them. And yes, I'd pay too!

  30. Jordan Guest

    Ben - I read one article of yours once as a high schooler and became hooked on OMAAT. I’ve probably read 80%+ of your articles daily for the past decade, and your consistent quality and authenticity is incredible. Thank you for doing what you do! I look forward to whatever comes next.

  31. Parnel Guest

    Thank you, nice to understand a bit more how blogging works.

  32. Redacted Guest

    Ben, you still have the best travel blog out there... it just baffles me how you haven't switched to a paid subscription model. We avgeeks are hardly a frugal group -- think how many of us subscribe to The Air Current -- and I am fully confident that you'd come out financially ahead versus the current ad revenue model.

    Anyway, just don't drop RSS support ;)

    Keep up the great work!

  33. CC Guest

    They come and they go... your site is my "go to" cause your independent and fresh. Slow and steady often wins the race!

  34. Tim Dunn Diamond

    thank you for the honest reflection and keep up the good work.

    You have one of the most balanced sites in terms of trying to be all things to all people, knowing full well that people want different things.

    Your comment section is better than it has been in a while so good job in navigating that. :-)

    1. Redacted Guest

      This cannot be overstated. And I'm impressed that the clean up of comments happened without having to eliminate guest accounts.

    2. hbilbao Diamond

      Oh, yeah! Best clean-up in the history of the internet :D

  35. piotrlotniczy Guest

    ❤️❤️❤️

  36. JL Guest

    Posts like these, which reflect your sincerity and good common sense, are reflecting of why OMAAT is the only points and miles blog I read everyday.

  37. Eskimo Guest

    My (honest) view of this state.

    Clickbaits are fine and fun to call out.
    Even TK just clickbait the whole world. (Shame on them).

    But not only the industry has change, Ben you have changed too.
    The younger Ben would have without second thoughts done SAS TK challege, possibly in J. JetBlue maybe not.

    And the credit card fatigue is real, I haven't given Ben any card application over a year now. It's...

    My (honest) view of this state.

    Clickbaits are fine and fun to call out.
    Even TK just clickbait the whole world. (Shame on them).

    But not only the industry has change, Ben you have changed too.
    The younger Ben would have without second thoughts done SAS TK challege, possibly in J. JetBlue maybe not.

    And the credit card fatigue is real, I haven't given Ben any card application over a year now. It's been that long since I applied for a new card.
    The best I can do now is help with the clicks and waste some time with fellow readers such as Tim and his Brit alter ego.

  38. Julie Guest

    I would love to see more assaults of toddlers in airports

  39. Alasdair Jones Guest

    Hey Ben. You're not fortunate your blog gets a lot of readership despite being small, it's a result of your (and others, I miss Tiffany's posts!) very hard work over those years. I love your trip reports and have flown a lot more than I ever expected to because of your inspiration.
    But just to be one of those guys... I think "I wouldn’t be able to do this seven days a week for...

    Hey Ben. You're not fortunate your blog gets a lot of readership despite being small, it's a result of your (and others, I miss Tiffany's posts!) very hard work over those years. I love your trip reports and have flown a lot more than I ever expected to because of your inspiration.
    But just to be one of those guys... I think "I wouldn’t be able to do this seven days a week for 17 days if I didn’t love it" should be 17 years?
    Well done, congrats on the new addition, and please keep doing those trip reports!

  40. Daniel B. Guest

    Most interesting insight, thank you so much for this very honest article. I learnt a lot now about this field.

  41. JAWE Guest

    Thanks for the great post!

    FYI small typo: "seven days a week for 17 days" (instead of years)

    1. Ben Schlappig OMAAT

      @ JAWE -- Fixed, thank you! :-)

  42. TransWorldOne Guest

    Thank you for doing what you do... If nothing else, I appreciate that your content is always authentic. There is a reason I trust you over other sources-- I really appreciate that everything isn't dripping with monetization. Congratulations for what you've accomplished and much continued success...

  43. Andrew Guest

    Love this, thanks for sharing Ben. I occasionally poke you in the comments, but I love your blog.

  44. DKB Guest

    Good post, well written. Explains a lot, those of us reading years, if like me, wouldn't have thought of a lot of that.

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Tim Dunn Diamond

thank you for the honest reflection and keep up the good work. You have one of the most balanced sites in terms of trying to be all things to all people, knowing full well that people want different things. Your comment section is better than it has been in a while so good job in navigating that. :-)

3
James S Guest

As a millennial who has hated how the internet has changed over the last decade, I really do appreciate you continuing to do this.

2
pstm91 Diamond

The majority of my Google searches are "XYZ Airline business class OMAAT" - when I am not sure about a particular product. It's the only blog I trust and that's thanks to your incredible reviews. Thanks for all the years of reading!

2
Meet Ben Schlappig, OMAAT Founder
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