Am I the only one who yearns for the days when the most deceiving online airline advice was to dress up so that you can score a free upgrade?
In this post:
I can’t with all of these dishonest, garbage travel tips
As you’d expect, those magical internet algorithms serve me a lot of airline content on platforms like Instagram. Look, I don’t want to be a jerk, but it just blows my mind with what frequency we see advice that’s downright horrible. And that’s being polite — it’s horrible and unhelpful at best, and an outright lie at worst. I’m not meaning to call out any particular person here, but here are a few I’ve seen this morning alone…
For example, take the below guy who has nearly 400K followers on Instagram, who shares a video that starts with another influencer saying “I learned this tip from a friend who is also a traveler, and I’m gonna share it with you guys, because it just changed the game.” Then the video pans over the dude with all the knowledge,.
“I didn’t realize that nobody knew this. You don’t need travel credit cards to access airport lounges. If you don’t want to pay those ridiculous $700 fees for travel credit cards, then Priority Pass is going to be your best friend. Priority Pass will get you access to almost every single airport lounge, for a one-time price of just $74, which gives you access for an entire year.”
Right, the reason “nobody knew this” is because it’s just not true. Yes, you can buy the $74 Priority Pass membership, which gives you zero complimentary lounge visits per year. Then that gives you the privilege of paying $35 per person for each lounge visit. What a detail to leave out, eh? And Priority Pass gets you access to “almost every single airport lounge,” really?
So paying $74 plus $35 per visit is better than picking up a credit card with an annual fee of under $400 per year, which offers automatic credits and miles that basically offset the annual fee, along with a Priority Pass membership with unlimited visits?
This same dude has another video where his friend opens with “there’s nothing you can do to convince me that this isn’t the most fire hack of all time.” Then it pans over to the dude with all the secrets.
“So apparently it’s not common knowledge, you can access every single one of Delta’s airport lounges without needing a Delta credit card. It’s actually through this airline that you probably never even thought about. Kenya Airways is offering a status match by going to this link where they will match your status for basically every single airline out there. And if you have Gold status, you get unlimited access to every single SkyTeam lounge, that includes Delta.”
Right, so that’s great, except for the fact that it ignores some major points. The status match costs $99, and you get access to Delta’s lounges if you’re traveling internationally the same day. That’s kind of an important detail to leave out, no?
Or there’s the below guy, who has some different airport lounge access tips.
“Airports actually let all passengers into lounges, but only if they know how to ask. Most people think that fancy airport lounges are just for business travelers or people flying first class, but what 99% of people don’t know is that you can get in for the price of a sandwich if you know where to look. Here’s what you do. You go to the airport’s website and see if they accept something called day pass, which 95% of all airports do. Then follow the link over to day pass, and purchase a ticket for as little as $20. This will get you and one other person you’re traveling with full access to all the airport lounges. So instead of spending $18 on a dry sandwich and $6 on a water, you now get to sit in a lounge, eat, charge your phone, and chill, for the same price.”
Yeah… no, none of that.
I could go on and on, but this is as much as I’m going to subject y’all to. The problem is that I’d say that every second post I’m served is of that quality. I dunno, maybe the algorithm has decided that I like fake travel news, and that’s why I get it, but it’s certainly a little problematic.
The evolving way media is consumed is concerning
I get that short form video content is very popular nowadays, as it’s how a lot of (especially young) people consume media. Fair enough. I think the challenge is the type of content this encourages, especially with platforms like TikTok, where everything can go viral.
Essentially, every piece of advice online has to be an “elevator pitch” of sorts, and immediately captivate people. Nobody wants to hear “here are five tips that could make your travels better.” They want to hear “here are the tricks airlines don’t want you to know,” or “I can’t believe no one else knows these travel hacks,” or “there’s nothing you can do to convince me that this isn’t the most fire hack of all time,” because of course people are going to click on those things.
Between the proliferation of this type of content, plus the increasing use of AI, it certainly causes some concerns about the level of knowledge people have about things. Admittedly this goes way beyond the travel industry, and probably explains a large part of our bigger societal issues.
Look, don’t get me wrong, all forms of media have their downsides and imperfection. Like, I’m far from perfect, and I make mistakes. But I actually try my best to give decent advice, and have a lot of experience in the things I’m talking about.
Bottom line
It just seems like there’s a huge increase lately in the amount of social media content with “secrets airlines don’t want you to know.” All too often, the only thing that’s true about this content is that airlines do in fact not want you to know, because people learning totally false information doesn’t benefit anyone.
Can anyone make sense of all of this?
You're not wrong... the signal to noise ratio has been getting worse (yet again).
I also think a lot of these kids grew up comfortable recording themselves, their phones do image stabilization, and filters make it so they don't even have to clean themselves up before recording. Add in the loose-with-facts culture and a dash of "fake it until you make it" and every wanna-be influencer is easily making the sort of drivel mentioned in the article. Sigh.
I think this is not unique with this industry and applies to almost any industry because everyone and anyone can comment about anything...
This is one of the big reasons I created David G Travels. Would be happy to have you on for an interview, Ben.
please provide a link to your website
Now… think how much of the other garbage random people tell you on social media is garbage.
Ben knows his s**t about travel. But stupid travel advice is unlikely to kill anyone. That’s not the case with bad medical advice or drug related advice or inflammatory political disinformation. Somehow anyone with the right tone of voice and pace can sound convincing saying anything.
This is the problem with social media. It rewards purely on engagement. That's why conspiracy type content is so popular (aka secrets "they" don't want you to know"). It doesn't prioritize accuracy of content. Google has it's own problems, but at the very least it factors in accuracy of information in search rankings which is why a blog with quality info will usually do better in the long run than one with garbage info. Again,...
This is the problem with social media. It rewards purely on engagement. That's why conspiracy type content is so popular (aka secrets "they" don't want you to know"). It doesn't prioritize accuracy of content. Google has it's own problems, but at the very least it factors in accuracy of information in search rankings which is why a blog with quality info will usually do better in the long run than one with garbage info. Again, not a perfect system which is why you see reputable blogs basically have to pander to whatever gets clicks. Social media is basically strictly the latter. Whatever gets clicks/eyeballs. Basically no regard for accuracy. Which is why no one should get important information from social.
Another subset of travel advice bloggers that I can't stand are the ones that make video about "Never wear a backpack in Europe" or "Europeans don't wear hats and they don't like it when you do either". Yes, both of those are real videos and tons more like them. Friends send me them all the time when asking for advice and I just can't stand that stuff.
this is one of the more interesting posts on One Mile at a Time of late. You should make this a regular posting!
This post caused my dog to open an instagram account so I could see the content
Well, according to a Pew Research Center survey out last week, 20% of Americans regularly get their news on TikTok and 43% of adults under 30 regularly get news there: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/09/25/1-in-5-americans-now-regularly-get-news-on-tiktok-up-sharply-from-2020/
The easy answer is, ignore it all. I don’t know how Instagram or any of the others work and have zero interest in the rubbish they all spew out.
Agree, it is the front line workers who bear the brunt of this drivel, the so called expert has long since garnered their click and gained whatever it is they are chasing.
Am I an old fuddy duddy? Yes I am and so glad my life was lived without these inane people.
Travel advice is also better than it's ever been before!
Ben,
actually you watch such a video to the end you make the algorithm show you another one, and then the next and then.... and of course with your own internet presence, every time you do this you push those links up for others to see. As another commenter said, jut switch them off immediately and the algorithm can be (slowly) reeducated.
Unless you want to go on a crusade against all wrong information on...
Ben,
actually you watch such a video to the end you make the algorithm show you another one, and then the next and then.... and of course with your own internet presence, every time you do this you push those links up for others to see. As another commenter said, jut switch them off immediately and the algorithm can be (slowly) reeducated.
Unless you want to go on a crusade against all wrong information on the internet but then please spend the time on more important topics.
Lucky, keep doing what you do.
Quality content will always find a quality audience.
That's why I don't use social media for anything except keeping in touch with friends. If someone is silly enough to believe everything enough on the interwebs, then he/she deserve the consequences.
There’s a guy on Instagram who calls out all these influencers to the extent many are attempting to sue him lol On the other side, he promotes small business and pays his way.
Just follow the money, all roads leads to advertisements and the cash it generates. Just as this blog does what it needs to maximize ad revenue, same with every other social media platform. It’s less about the message it delivers, it is more about how much engagement does this post gets. Maximizing for ad revenue gets you these content, don’t blame the people who do this, blame the system. We live in a capitalist society,...
Just follow the money, all roads leads to advertisements and the cash it generates. Just as this blog does what it needs to maximize ad revenue, same with every other social media platform. It’s less about the message it delivers, it is more about how much engagement does this post gets. Maximizing for ad revenue gets you these content, don’t blame the people who do this, blame the system. We live in a capitalist society, accept these flaws and you will keep your sanity.
Such a flawed approach...
Yes, that is how advertising works, but spreading half-truths and outright lies is not the only way to get engagement. Saying “gotta make money no matter how” is a totally backwards ethical approach to business.
Lounges in the US have become crowded with people who don’t know how to share space and be modest while selecting items from the buffet. My travel hack as I get older is to find a decent concourse restaurant with good food, an open seat at the bar and at least one good local IPA on tap. Occasionally the bar will have a fun bunch of people on both sides of the counter. That seems to be more often than not at Chicken And Beer at ATL.
Could not agree more Ben. Thank you for highlighting. Social media culture has been toxic for so many different reasons and for folks of all ages and demographics.
But...but...but it's on the internet -- it's gotta be true!
If I hear one more 'influencer' pronounce it "AIM-X" ...
These are the same people whose 'member since' is 2024.
Looool, I hate "aim-x" too!
Supply and demand. People are convinced that a breakdown video is absolutely true and can't be refuted. No sense in explaining use your best judgment anymore. The last 2 generations only want to be told exactly what to do,how to, when and where. That's not to say it didn't happen in my Gen x era either. I remember having to argue with dumb friends because they site something in men's health magazine and actually said...
Supply and demand. People are convinced that a breakdown video is absolutely true and can't be refuted. No sense in explaining use your best judgment anymore. The last 2 generations only want to be told exactly what to do,how to, when and where. That's not to say it didn't happen in my Gen x era either. I remember having to argue with dumb friends because they site something in men's health magazine and actually said to me if it's in print it must be true. Unsurprisingly his life went off the rails in the last few decades and conspiracy bound. No matter how obvious some people just lack the ability to figure out fact and fiction. I don't mind so much of they just live in their hole but they emerge, gets in my face and tell me "this is what you should do" and I'm like please go play in traffic.
All social media forums have transformed the world into a much darker and more twisted place to be, especially at home. There is no prediction how much worse our society is becoming once the US companies takes control of TikTok, after a successful highway robbery. The article below explains how its negative effects have on our lives. I never waste time visiting any of them.
https://www.vox.com/podcasts/463206/tiktok-deal-us-china-ellison-murdoch
Lucky, I know you were considering creating short-form content similar to these shorts you get on your feed, but with actual good travel tips? Have you decided on whether to do it yet?
Ben, if these are the only Fake News you have to contend with... (they are not...), you do not know your luck.
Can you imagine what it is for some ?
The $99 price is for SkyTeam Elite. Elite Plus is required for international lounge access, costing $175/$299 depending on residence, per the Asante status match website.
If you possess the attention span of a goldfish, and 'short form' is how you principally imbibe 'knowledge', then you richly deserve all the bitter (and completely avoidable) disappointments that the world of travel will throw at you.
The problem is when they become vocal annoying adults and insist they are right and will pass laws to enforce it. Facts are optional.
Well, I would argue that the $20 day pass claim is not that much less accurate than the suggestion that is often made on this blog that oneworld status is more valuable not only more than the Skyteam equivalent (a somewhat fanciful claim which might nonetheless be attributed to a desire to manage the expectations of those likely to encounter DL's stinginess in granting elite benefits), but even than *G with its unrivalled global reach...
Well, I would argue that the $20 day pass claim is not that much less accurate than the suggestion that is often made on this blog that oneworld status is more valuable not only more than the Skyteam equivalent (a somewhat fanciful claim which might nonetheless be attributed to a desire to manage the expectations of those likely to encounter DL's stinginess in granting elite benefits), but even than *G with its unrivalled global reach and surprisingly consistent recognition.
A Dragonpass offer not too long ago sold entries at just $10 apiece, while I've come across a fair few airports in the Global South selling lounge access for $30 or so.
Clearly you won't get into a Singapore Airlines F lounge for $20, but I am sure there are some airports out there which do sell lounge access for that sort of money. In that sense, the $20 lounge access is not that different from the superior Emerald status and its lounge access- which does exist and is a cool benefit, but it's only available in a minority of airports used by a minority of airlines within an alliance with relatively limited global coverage.
I heard if you wear a suit and tie you will get upgraded to first class. That is obviously true
lol it got me an upgrade to Business once! Granted I was an employee on an industry ticket in Economy and I had some friends on the ground in FRA and they asked their flight manager if they could upgrade me and I heard the manager ask if I was dressed nicely lol…
THIS so much!!!
I have to rely on key word searches with reviews at this point because so many are garbage. The receptionist didn't smile at me...one star. I didn't stay here but they were rude on the phone...one star. Ugh...go touch grass!
Respectfully, if you're going to call out others putting out misinformation, then I'm going to call into question your own standards. On your recent article about the Atmos points sale, multiple commentors pointed out that AS has not been able to book JL F for quite some time now (since 2024). It doesn't appear that you've addressed that. You generally know what you're talking about, which is what makes it quite disappointing that you do...
Respectfully, if you're going to call out others putting out misinformation, then I'm going to call into question your own standards. On your recent article about the Atmos points sale, multiple commentors pointed out that AS has not been able to book JL F for quite some time now (since 2024). It doesn't appear that you've addressed that. You generally know what you're talking about, which is what makes it quite disappointing that you do not seem to be too focused on being fully correct despite knowing that many people look to you as a trustworthy, expert source of information.
I have found similar issues with Ben's reporting on Air Canada Aeroplan; breathless praise but ignoring substantive issues in a fashion that seems...less than random.
All travel influencers are the same. It's just a matter of which ones are obvious shills and the others that try to act like they're above it.
@eric @As is S...
I too have noticed similar with articles here. Ben should know better, so I can only assume the intent is to be disingenuous.
I constantly receive this type of propaganda with someone saying that there is a magical way to pay for airline tickets with a 90% discount. And they continue to assert that I have to be smart and not pay the price that the airline publishes because it is very easy to travel by business class paying less than a tourist class ticket. Terrible magical internet algorithms!!
Seeing advice like this makes me feel sorry for all the airport and airline employees who have to deal with the inevitable angry customers claiming they were promised xyz when their only source was a Tiktok video...This is also why I'll never stop reading OMAAT and doing my own research
“Well they said if I wore two tinfoil hats and gave candy to TSA I was guaranteed an upgrade to Mystical Class even though I booked myself a crate in the cargo hold! I want to talk to your manager!”
Explains why the lounge-entry staff are so aggressive
As someone from Gen Z, I’m not a fan of my people’s. I think the best is “how to book a flight for 5$” have you seen those Lucky?
Sure, taxes are 5.60 but the miles needed requires a lot more. Just young people trying to make money and get famous. Arghhh
It's more like young people just trying to make money without getting an actual job.
Hey, I am a firm believer in Darwin. Go ahead lazy low information bolts. Follow the bad advice. More room in the lounge for me!
You know whats not bad travel advice? Sky Key. Even beats points/miles.
“Priority Pass will get you access to almost every single airport lounge, for a one-time price of just $74, which gives you access for an entire year.”
Lol, only a fraction of airport lounges accept Priority Pass. Of those few, half of them only accept it during hours where you are not at the airport and the other half will place you on a waiting list. That is the Priority Pass experience in a nutshell.
Truth! Yet every card pumping blogger on the Boarding Area talks about Priority Pass in glowing terms when it comes with whatever card happens to have blogger referral bonus at the time. Priority Pass is nearly worthless at a large number of US airports.
A lot of reddit and flyertalk advice is useless too. Many, many people on those forums are amazingly helpful but there are also a fair amount of people who speak condescendingly as if they are experts and give completely bad advice.
e.g. in the last 6 months, I had someone forcefully, and kinda rudely, advise me on reddit that I had zero chance of getting EU261 compensation for a cancelled flight because of x and...
A lot of reddit and flyertalk advice is useless too. Many, many people on those forums are amazingly helpful but there are also a fair amount of people who speak condescendingly as if they are experts and give completely bad advice.
e.g. in the last 6 months, I had someone forcefully, and kinda rudely, advise me on reddit that I had zero chance of getting EU261 compensation for a cancelled flight because of x and y. I emailed the airline anyway and they immediately paid out.
So in short, you need to really know how to filter out bad advice from good advice.
flyertalk stopped being relevant right around the time of the pandemic. we saw a huge shift toward airline and hotel subreddits, as well as r/awardtravel and r/churning. you are right that reddit is a mixed bag. there are literally 35 year old equity partners at big law firms commingled in the comments with 15 year old basement dwelling virgin trolls.
@penile @RK
Flyertalk is not all bad. Recently, advice from that site resulted in my first flights on JAL ORD/TYO/ORD in First Class using AA miles.
Insta-fluencer clickbait like this is how I know I've been spoiled by this blog. Here I get accurate, in-depth information that I've actually been able to put into practice, and that gives me the experience to know real quick when the insta-fluencer is selling BS or not. Love and appreciate you and your blog Ben!
i get annoyed at influencers saying "Yo, I flew business class for the price of an economy ticket! YOu can, too!" And they don't mention that you need to spend money to earn the points to fly.
Because the mounts of their type of audience would drift away the moment you explain how it works and that they have to do more than click 3 buttons on their phone.
We were all young and stupid!
Let the ignorant live ignorantly...they will smarten up someday when they are old and wise!
No need to help them!
On a flight from HK to Syd - we were about to board and a younger man turned up at the gate complaining that he wasn't feeling super and asked whether they can give him a seat where he can lie down comfortably.
The CX staff was a bit more junior, didn't know how to handle it, a more senior staff turned up and basically spoke firmly but politely to him:
Her: "are you...
On a flight from HK to Syd - we were about to board and a younger man turned up at the gate complaining that he wasn't feeling super and asked whether they can give him a seat where he can lie down comfortably.
The CX staff was a bit more junior, didn't know how to handle it, a more senior staff turned up and basically spoke firmly but politely to him:
Her: "are you ill?"
Him: "yes, and very tired"
Her: "are you too ill to fly, if you are, we'll put you on the next flight"
Him: "no, i'm fine to fly, I just want you to give me a bed where I can rest on the flight"
Her: "sorry, you're on economy, if you're too ill to fly, we'll have to get your luggage out and we'll get you on another flight"
Him: "I'm not too ill to fly, I just want a bed"
Her: "Sorry, if you're not too ill to fly, then you'll need to take your assigned seats, the flight is fully booked"
He just walked back into line at economy, and there were free seats in business during the flight. But credit to the agent for being firm and it sounded like a child being disciplined.
What I don't get is...apart from social media people bending the truth that these strategies work, when do these ever work? And isn't it better time spent just working to be able to afford these perks than to trying to "scam" your way through?
Well I was sick on a flight from Singapore to Phnom Pen. I must have looked pretty bad because the flight attendant moved me from the back of the bus to first class so I could have a better ride. I did not ask or say anything. So moral of the story...don't listen to these 15 minute influshers.
Wish that was true. I know plenty of boomers, genx who are still gullible, stupid although many are not lazy but just incompetent.
How about the credit card reviews on the major news websites?
I had a four-hour layover at ICN two weeks ago, and decided I'd go check out an area near an AREX station between flights. I inputted the possible stops into ChatGPT, and ChatGPT's comparison favoured an area with great coffee and a new development. Since I'd decided I'd leave the airport on a whim, I didn't think as much to cross-check this information by other sources.
I ended up in a construction site. Turns out...
I had a four-hour layover at ICN two weeks ago, and decided I'd go check out an area near an AREX station between flights. I inputted the possible stops into ChatGPT, and ChatGPT's comparison favoured an area with great coffee and a new development. Since I'd decided I'd leave the airport on a whim, I didn't think as much to cross-check this information by other sources.
I ended up in a construction site. Turns out this was meant to be a snazzy new development area...in 2029.
Day passes rarely even work anymore. Flew out of MIA at 8am last Saturday (hardly a peak travel time/date) and the Admirals Club had a sign outside saying they would not accept day passes. That sign is out there more often than not.
And, then, there's Joe Rogan.
But, seriously folks, I've personally seen one of these influencers staging one of these things with a "cameraman." It's just to put up sensational content. Because it means clicks. Which means advertising revenue. Like the hokey pokey, that's what it's all about.
Lounges seem to have a fascination from people who have never been or don't go very often, and it's evident even in the way they act when they're in the lounges, often more loud, brash, and gorge themselves on food that frankly aren't that great to begin with.
There are lounges which are quite nice and offer great food (mostly in Asia), but in most cases, they end up just being a place where you can get some quiet in a corner and recharge a bit before a flight.
Fake lounge access tips are bad, but then there are AI-generated detailed trip suggestions that send people to non-existent "sacred canyons" in Peru, or recommend watching sunset from a mountain top in Japan and taking the last cable car down at 17:30, except that the cable car actually stops running way before that time.
And I do think that there is real frustration with premium credit cards that come with coupon-book benefits, at least for...
Fake lounge access tips are bad, but then there are AI-generated detailed trip suggestions that send people to non-existent "sacred canyons" in Peru, or recommend watching sunset from a mountain top in Japan and taking the last cable car down at 17:30, except that the cable car actually stops running way before that time.
And I do think that there is real frustration with premium credit cards that come with coupon-book benefits, at least for old fogies who get their own groceries, drive their own car or use public transportation, eat restaurant food in restaurants, and bike outdoors and not on a Peloton :)
The AI stuff just keeps getting more and more prevalent and it's awful. Most of the time it's not too hard to tell it's AI after you've seen a couple, but it's still just utter slop filling up the feed. And that goes for actual internet search results too, not just social media feeds.
This garbage on the internet is not only about travel but everything: food, diet, weight loss, fitness, etc. 100% disinformation.
This is what you get when you don't read the fine print and do your due diligence and research. A modernized version of too-good-to-be-true internet/TV/print media ads.
Also to really know this hobby means making some mistakes and learning from them.
There is no research anymore or using ones own intuition. If what you want is not on page 1 of your Google search results then it must not exist, it's not real or you're being scammed.
People will acknowledge what I just said and respond with AI as a solution.
This is similar to what happened in the fitness space in the 2010s online (and is still going on). Not to pat you on the back, but you at least hold yourself to high standards and make a valiant attempt at fact checking and accountability. These folks wouldn't know a fact checker if they smacked them upside the head.
I'd go back even farther than that with respect to fitness.
Think of how diluted and flat-out wrong mainstream has made fitness culture. You wanna see REAL workouts? Watch Pumping Iron. 70's and 80's were when this ish was done RIGHT.
This sort of misinformation has become common in many areas of life.
Still, I do not see perceive it as a threat. Truly curious travels will read OMAAT, or Prince of Travel, to get educated perspectives. Individuals seeking true scientific data on other topics can go to a university's journals. Truth exists, for whoever seeks it out.
This is why I appreciate excellent reporting so much, such as the hallmark OMAAT series " A Downgraded Adventure to Oman."
I agree that truth is out there for those who seek it though it can be hard to find amongst a sea of misinformation. What worries me is the shocking decline in critical thinking skills. How many people would question those posts or do further research to verify what is being said. That is lacking so much these days in all subjects, not just the travel space.
I do think it's a threat because it's not just travel. It's finance, technology and health. I fully believe it has changed the way people think and behave. Why is it that back in the early 2000s I was able to write an email with 10 step direction and staff was able to at least mostly follow the direction. But the lady decade, more than half the people did not realize there was more than...
I do think it's a threat because it's not just travel. It's finance, technology and health. I fully believe it has changed the way people think and behave. Why is it that back in the early 2000s I was able to write an email with 10 step direction and staff was able to at least mostly follow the direction. But the lady decade, more than half the people did not realize there was more than 2 steps in the direction and almost everyone asks me a question but the answe6was already on the email.
I suspect many of you have encountered this behavior.
I have a young apprentice learning to be a software engineer who suddenly want to know more about finance which is great. She is asking a bunch of questions and is confused because all the knowledge she has so far is from 1 minute tiktoks on roth, ira and capital gains. How much accurate info do you think you can gather on those 3 topics after a total of 3 minutes of short videos. It's sad and pathetic. I have enough sense to talk to my girls about this and thank God they take after me in figuring things out on their own.
Prince doesn't belong in the same league as Ben Schlappig. They make errors, write ambiguously and there's no Comments section, so readers never see their stories rebutted. Read a Prince story on a subject you know well and you'll see how problematic POT 2.0 is, post-Ricky.
Travel advisors are a dying breed anyway. It's sad what they claim to ger clicks.
I actually didn't know about that Kenya Airways status match. Knowing the conditions, it still sounds like a good deal lol!
Recently, I got the "travel hack advice" that I could load up our travel carseat bag with diapers, baby clothes, etc, and since it's baby-related it gets checked for free.
Learned the hard way when I had to pay $100 for the extra checked bag, because the truth is that only the car seat can be in the carrier bag.
Yup.
I hate this, because travel is bad enough without disappointment from BS social-media tips, especially as increasingly with travel hacking, as with life, you get what you pay for.
I’m too old to consume Instalame shorts, but if I did, then anything that starts with “You will not believe this hack……” and I am outa there!!!
Uncle Ronnie, I must say I appreciate your contributions and you don’t give a vibe of “old man yells at cloud.” Still, your self-identification as too old amuses me.
https://www.dailydot.com/memes/old-man-yells-at-cloud-meme/
I appreciate you too TTT :)
I have an employee who travels internationally about once per year. Naturally, she bought the Amex Platinum card so she could access lounges when she travels. You can imagine how upset she was when I told her she could skip the Amex and its $895 annual fee by simply buying a $50 day pass to a lounge on that one day she travels.
She sounds like the kind of person who would redeem 100K amex points for a toaster and feel like she got an amazing deal, LOL
I think you've missed the sarcasm, dude.
Wikipedia is the best thing ever. Anyone in the world can write anything they want about any subject. So you know you are getting the best possible information.
Actually, Wikipedia is not as bad as you say it is, and I say that as a retired full professor. Yes, everybody can edit it, but other editors will delete incorrect information. If there is an edit war, it is resolved by discussion among uninvolved editors. I’m sure misinformation can linger on a backwater topic, but on active pages, misinformation won’t survive long. There will always be someone to check it.
Even at the end...
Actually, Wikipedia is not as bad as you say it is, and I say that as a retired full professor. Yes, everybody can edit it, but other editors will delete incorrect information. If there is an edit war, it is resolved by discussion among uninvolved editors. I’m sure misinformation can linger on a backwater topic, but on active pages, misinformation won’t survive long. There will always be someone to check it.
Even at the end of my career, I wouldn’t allow Wikipedia citations, but that’s because encyclopedias generally can’t capture the nuances of theoretical concepts. It’s no longer the wasteland it was in its early days, and I even financially support it once in a while.
Uninvolved person resolving things? Ha, no, it is a bunch of teens who vote for each other to be administrators then ban people left and right. It is comical.
Wikipedia is really bad. Once it banned an expert because the expert mentioned their qualifications. Wikipedia thought everyone is equal and mentioning your qualifications is against equality!
Nothing new, just a new way to lie and fool people and make money.
you didnt even mention the worst/most common issue on the points side of instagram: the exaggeration of one-way fares to inflate cpp
"whoa london-NYC would have been 6k one way if booked with cash!!! i got 10cpp!!!!"
Julia/geobreeze for example is usually a smart/fair/overall good content creator but even she succumbs to this garbage and she knows better
Sad to say, point.me does the same thing in its ratings of “good deal “ and “great deal.” Those flags are totally unreliable.
I think it reflects the broader paradigm shift for how Gen Z produces and consumes information: short snappy videos that require relatively little thought and effort.
I don’t think they have desire (or maybe attention span) to actually read your blog for sound advice. Would be interested to know if you have any insight into the age demographics of your visitors
@ Alec -- And it's totally fair to consume short form content. What puzzles me is how people settle for downright lies. Like I said, though, perhaps indicative of a larger problem in our society.
not only do lies get more views because they're punchy and "let you guys in" on "hidden secrets that most don't know," they also generate controversy and iterative engagement cycles when people who actually know things correct the record in the comments.
silicon valley LOVES lies!
A $20 day pass? I can't imagine what such a lounge would be like.
@ George N Romey -- That $20 price is for two people, since it includes a guest, apparently!
Oh, I can imagine what it's like. The IASS Hawaii Lounge in Honolulu. Soda, no food, one TV, and old furniture. Where $10/person is a ripoff.