I think there's s big distinction between inviting newbies and putting this stuff on national television. All we need is one board member of a large bank to ask one of the lead operating officers what he or she is doing to stop the giveaways, and that bank will be history for us a week or two later. And please don't tell me they already know-it's there for all to see but they don't look, as the Citi links that stayed alive for months showed. But if you rub their noses in it and say LOOK HERE, they will.

I'm more concerned with impact than motivation but since Rick raised the question, what is the motivation? It seems to me that people interested in pursuing this hobby find their way to FT, MP and the blogs. So why broadcast it out to millions more?

Your blog was the first blog I came across on 3/2010. I was searching on Google how to earn more Amex Membership search as a friend had referred me to sign up for the Amexplat. (he also knew nothing about these sites either)Then My world changed everything I did was to charge charge and charge some more. All my friends hated that I charged everything, and they course could not grab the concept of the point game. Once a month a took advantage of charging our dinner bills at some premier steakhouses in NYC and watched my points add up. MY gain is there loss.
Before you went on TV this whole method of traveling was only found out if one finds it. My opinion is that the group become upset about this because once the masses of the population start it goes away. But as you saw from my dinner example not everyone understands the concept and want to be bothered using credit cards.
This is a slippy slope topic and you will have valid arguments on both sides. I hope the majority of the people who saw the show are the ones who say this is not for me.

There's a big difference though in natural growth and manufactured growth. People finding FlyerTalk and blogs through happenstance and friend-to-friend referrals is one thing, but publicly talking about it all the country to see is another.

For instance, I would rather people who are interested in flying/traveling find out about FlyerTalk et al because they are looking for a community to talk about their experiences and share any insight/deals that they have. I don't want people who see a piece in the Journal or see you on TV and think "Hey, I've never even wanted to travel, but if I can do it for free, why not?!?" I want the travel interest to be there already.

I would say that most of the deals that are found are from the group that I talked about: the people who fly frequently and are constantly looking for ways to get more miles. The second group is merely going to lurk and take the deals that others have found for them.

Naysayers are JUST a distraction. They get PAID to write/broadcast their stuff. Please ignore them and keep doing the great service that you perform to the traveling community. Thanks.

I think the reason we don't have to worry about "everyone" jumping on this bandwagon and ultimately ruining all this fun for everyone else is the fact that it generally takes good to excellent credit to really take advantage of most of this information. And considering most credit card companies are doing very well, you would have to assume their average customer does NOT fit the profile of the average FT person. Credit card companies wouldn't be around long if most people used them and abused (figuratively speaking) them like FT'ers. It's the credit card companies that do the using and abusing. Face it, the average American doesn't wisely use their credit (look at our "wise" government's "brilliant" use of our money for heaven's sake) and are in no situation to take advantage of this great information even if they had it spoon-fed to them: The average Americans is in debt. And big debt. That's great for us regular Frugal Travel-types but unfortunately it's bad for this nation in general.
"EVeryone" joining this lucrative traveling bandwagon is the last thing we have to worry about.

I don't think this point needs to be argued about on blogs. It will only piss off more people, and feed people's arguments and desire to argue.
Also, if I was one of the 7,000 new people visiting from Nightline, and was reading articles like this I would be turned off immediately. Just saying…
This blog comes off pretty intense, and while I understand that I'm sure you have received AWEFULLY INTENSE and slanderous emails from long time Flyertalkers and the like, don't repay evil with evil.

I really dislike the term "travel hacking". Did you make that up? It just seems to me that Hacking is kind of illegal, like stealing or breaking in. I just like to find out the best deals and learn from others.

Rick: Newbies' contributions? Like what? Please give us a few examples. Seems the critics have hit a nerve with you. IMHO your "pre-referral" blogs were to the point and great. Now, they are motivated by fame, recognition and $. I truly miss your solo written blogs which reflected your enjoyment of this hobby/sport.

How about removing all affiliate links to show us you're really in this for the good of community?

Haha. I didn't want to be the first to respond to this mess. "Pull the wagons into a circle!!!" It is very hard for me to imagine a blog on credit card churning that could be any better than this one is. I read this blog daily, and guess what; I still don't churn credit cards. This blog helps me by also defining what isn't right for me! Hoardes of newcomers to the hobby are not gonna change that.
I always smile at any posts about ego. This is how I exercise mine; when any blogger offends my ego, I simply stop reading their blog. Try it, folks.
"But the deals will go away!" (Yeah, something like that happened with my youth!) Time marches on. We are not in the time of miles for cereal and dumpster diving for fastfood drink cups. Hoards of interested newcomers means opportunities for marketers to create conditions for the next PuddinGuy.
So thanks, Rick, for everything you do.