Comments on Frugal Travel Guy: Internet Brands Acquires The Frugal Travel Guy

Congrats, you get paid to do what you like, your a...

2012-01-23T14:38:56.095-05:00

Congrats, you get paid to do what you like, your a lucky man. So now when your on vacation, are you at work?

I hope so. Flyertalk is a design nightmare.

2012-01-23T11:12:59.000-05:00

I hope so. Flyertalk is a design nightmare.

Thanks for all the comments and congrats and conce...

2012-01-22T22:26:00.289-05:00

Thanks for all the comments and congrats and concerns. Chris S. I still have the email list but disagree with your additional comment re "only if I get.compensated for my efforts"

What started as a hobby and passion became a full time job for a retired guy. The volume of email is amazing and that is where most of the sharing now takes place. I try on a daily basis to answer every email I get and answer emails for hours a day. I'm not about to discuss your personal finances on a public forum. I'm working more behind the scenes .

Also let's all except the fact that we now have a proliferation of blogs sharing about a 500 mile bonus here or 1000 points there. We try to handle that on the Deal of the Day post in the afternoon. I'm excited about the change as now I have more time to go back to blogging and will not have to spend time with the backend of the blog, compliance, affiliate links etc. From day one I chose to be independent instead of aligning with BoardingArea to do my back end work, and the volume finally caught up with me. I needed the help and am really glad to be aligned with Internet brands. I'm looking forward to all good things, and I think most of you who know me well enough, if I have issues, I'm not afraid to speak up

Congrats on the purchase. I'm sure that is wh...

2012-01-22T21:06:51.209-05:00

Congrats on the purchase. I'm sure that is what you wanted if you let it go through.

But, frankly I'm a bit surprised. Yes, it is a great blog but honestly, I can't imagine that traffic is that high. Pageview rank can't be that high. Users can't be that high. TOS can't be that high, Honestly, I can't see the value to IB other than maybe financial relationships with credit card companies, but certainly IB could do this themselves?

Congratulations and Good Luck!

2012-01-22T20:54:00.008-05:00

Congratulations and Good Luck!

Rick, Generally, I'm happy for you. Though I...

2012-01-22T16:12:31.547-05:00

Rick,

Generally, I'm happy for you. Though I can't help but notice that this blog, even in the last year or so, has drifted away from the "I'm sharing this information with you because you ought/deserve to know it" theme to "I'll share my knowledge, so long as I'm compensated financially for it."

Also, I'm curious whether those of us on your email listserv had our email addresses sold to Internet Brands.

Best of luck to you Rick! I've been following ...

2012-01-22T15:09:09.419-05:00

Best of luck to you Rick! I've been following your blog since the beginning & I just hope that this does not lead to you being phased out of posting to the blog.
I always enjoy your posts and you are the first blog I read each day. However, in the last year+ it seems like more and more- others are contributing and I am reading less from you.

Congrats!! This just confirms that if you are smar...

2012-01-22T14:18:45.973-05:00

Congrats!! This just confirms that if you are smart, industrious, knowledgeable in your field, and good looking, success will be yours. I have one of those four, so need to work on the other three. I'll work on that as soon as I fulfill my New Years resolution to trim my ear hair.

Go get 'em Rick!

~ Mars

Very happy for you! Congratulations! I look forw...

2012-01-22T04:32:53.065-05:00

Very happy for you! Congratulations! I look forward to seeing your site get beautified!! I think it's awesome to have tremendous content and be nice to look at. I'm sure they will give you a great face lift!! Have fun!

this is awesome! congrats Rick! I think this is ...

2012-01-22T02:48:03.091-05:00

this is awesome! congrats Rick! I think this is great and really hope it helps move the site forward as well!

Interesting to see some readers of a blog that foc...

2012-01-22T00:44:53.582-05:00

Interesting to see some readers of a blog that focuses on credit card churning shouting "Sell Out". And Brutus is a noble man.

Good to see Rick make a move to liquidity. And anyone else in this economy. I'll continue to measure FTG and all the other blogs by the workable information they provide, not their ownership or structure.

I like FTG, though as the credit card bonanza has receeded, at least for now, FTG seems to have had less to offer. My focus now is on savvy redemptions.

great blogging so far. i'd just lke some ass...

2012-01-21T23:31:11.506-05:00

great blogging so far.

i'd just lke some assurance that future posts will never be written by corporate shills who just care about making a buck.

Rick, couldn't have happened to a better guy. ...

2012-01-21T22:45:58.341-05:00

Rick, couldn't have happened to a better guy.

Here's to your continued success.

Wow! Mille Congrats!

2012-01-21T21:30:11.106-05:00

Wow! Mille Congrats!

Good on you. Those of us who have followed you for...

2012-01-21T21:04:45.065-05:00

Good on you. Those of us who have followed you for years are probably not surprised, you've been sending signals for a year or so - Andrew, Shannon, Howie, your generous welcome to Mommy Points @ Chicago Do & comments that new bloggers are needed/welcome. You've always delivered the goods as far as I'm concerned. No one can accuse you of not playing straight - and your constant emphasis of "watch your credit score, watch your credit score, be careful of your credit score" has impressed me. I assume each day there's a few new readers who think it's as easy as filling out credit card applications.
I write this from Conrad BKK, a 25 day trip made possible thanks to your mention a few years ago of the BA 100K promo. My husband doesn't know you from Adam, doesn't know how I do it, but thanks to you and a few others we're staying free at killer hotels, flew CX J over here(I know, but F didn't open and it's fine) and when we get back we'll be ready for our next churn. Congrats.

Rick: Congratulations on the acquisition. Much lu...

2012-01-21T19:49:36.635-05:00

Rick:
Congratulations on the acquisition. Much luck as a working stiff 2012 and beyond as you are no longer officially retired. :)

Hi Rick, Very cool indeed and congrats! I have...

2012-01-21T19:30:18.823-05:00

Hi Rick,

Very cool indeed and congrats!

I have a question that we can discuss offline. Do you have any space for speakers at the Chicago seminar that has content that is still related to acquiring points and miles but is mostly focused on saving money? I write a blog, theconsumersedge.com, and scratch the surface of miles/points, but my advice is probably also of interest to the FF community.

I can be reached at mschroed@hotmail.com to discuss. Thanks and congrats again.

Mark

Why are people so mad about this? Rick is still po...

2012-01-21T17:10:37.567-05:00

Why are people so mad about this? Rick is still posting and doing what he did before. It'll be better format and speed wise. You people who are crying sell out are like those that were mad when computers took over typewriters. It's a change for the better, not worse. -Chappy

Best of Luck!

2012-01-21T14:51:49.034-05:00

Best of Luck!

you did tell the new team that all of us "old...

2012-01-21T14:05:52.696-05:00

you did tell the new team that all of us "old guys" get special privileges and perks? ...

ATABOY INGY!!

PS: it must have been all of those gummi bears at the first seminar in the Chicago library ...

Seems like an odd acquisition for Internet Brands,...

2012-01-21T13:03:38.662-05:00

Seems like an odd acquisition for Internet Brands, but congrats to you!

The problem for Internet Brands is that the "indie" bloggers will almost certainly maintain a cutting-edge content advantage over the more corporate bloggers. So they will have broader readership among the "travel-gentsia." But you were headed more mass-market anyway, so I don't see how this hurts your blog.

iahphx

Congratulations! I assume they paid you in miles?

2012-01-21T13:01:00.849-05:00

Congratulations! I assume they paid you in miles?

Congrats. That the American way and what has made...

2012-01-21T12:56:50.040-05:00

Congrats. That the American way and what has made this country great. I pray that the purpose will still be for everyone to help each other in the wonderful world of frugal travel. Because of things I have learned on this blog and other blogs, today, I was able to use miles to book a missionary a ticket to fly from London to a conference in the Washington DC area in which He is the guest speaker. I was able to do this because of the helpful travel advice I have received. Thanks for the help. Steve

Congrats Rick! Now I know why you were in LA coupl...

2012-01-21T12:28:53.439-05:00

Congrats Rick! Now I know why you were in LA couple weeks ago, eh? Does this mean you an expense account?

I'm curious and anxious to see how I will feel...

2012-01-21T12:15:52.483-05:00

I'm curious and anxious to see how I will feel in 8 months from now. Gut response is that one the one hand, I am delighted for RIck and for any entrepreneur who has a vision, follows it & then sees it meet and even exceed his initial plan. On the other hand, I'm questioning how the purchaser will benefit and how its benefitting will affect the readers.
Will the purchaser now have our contact information? will they be checking out our cookies to some marketing end? Do I sound paranoid?