A few weeks ago I opined that the golden age of points & miles is behind us. Some of you agreed, some of you disagreed. It appears, however, that I misspoke. What I should have said is that the golden age of The Hobby is behind us.
In case you haven’t read it yet, I’m alluding to the rock star treatment accorded to Ben Schlappig of One Mile At A Time in Rolling Stone, a publication best known for propagating rape hoaxes. Check this out:
Schlappig owes his small slice of fame to his blog “One Mile at a Time,” a diary of a young man living the life of the world’s most implausible airline ad. Posting as often as six times a day, he metes out meticulous counsel on the art of travel hacking — known in this world as the Hobby.
Who the heck calls this stuff “The Hobby”? Was there a meeting I wasn’t invited to? Do you all refer to it as The Hobby once I’m out of earshot?
At any rate, George at TBB has been all over this. I don’t have much to add other than a resigned sigh. George linked to this excellent post on Flyertalk from AAExPlat. The whole thing is worth a read but I’ll highlight this one bit:
It makes it all sound so easy and it just isn’t anymore. Granted, it used to be. But the dream they sell is only possible if someone puts a truckload of effort and time into it. Something that MOST people don’t have because they have jobs, spouses, kids, friends, hobbies etc. That’s why the article title is so misleading. Lucky must spend between $50k-$100k on travel each year.
The RS article, mind you, says “Meet the Man Who Flies Around the World for Free”. The Daily Fail article capitalizes the word “FREE” just so there isn’t any doubt about what’s being sold. Ben gets money–a lot of money–from selling credit cards and he spends some of that on his travels. It’s dishonest to say he travels for free, but hey, it’s Rolling Stone, so I guess we can’t get too hung up on things like facts.
We’re doomed, I tell you. Doomed! From now on, I’m just going to write about the Chase Sapphire Preferred. Stay tuned for Chase Sapphire Preferred Week here at PFD!
I think you peg Rolling Stone. I feel like when I first read that article, I completely forgot where I was reading it… not that it gets me any less frustrated.
Rolling Stone cross checks nothing. They can’t resist anything that’s too good not to print. It’s a tabloid disguised as something serious.
Don’t forget the arcane witchery voodoo art of Manufacture Spend.
In the imperative.
So you and unrepentant plagiarist James Larounis don’t call what you do “The Hobby”? Why not coin some other cult-like moniker to titillate those of us in the great unwashed.
I gotta admit, The Hobby sounds like just the thing for a young man with a bloated ego to engage in.
How you can tell this and any of the other pieces on him are just fluff pieces, is no one asks him about one of the most well known “secrets” known about him. The well established fact that he is banned from flying United for fraudulently using certs.