David vs. Goliath

The covid pandemic was tough on small business.  The path the government chose crushed so many small businesses and favored big business like Home Depot, Amazon, Walmart, and others.  During, and even before the pandemic, it seems like the points and miles loyalty game tracked down a similar path – with smaller, unique blogs either getting bought out, fizzling out, or perhaps getting “forced out” of business.  Specifically I’m thinking of the demise of Travel Is Free, which was an absolutely wonderful points and travel blog, and others like Middle Aged Miles, which appears to be completely extinct.  Look at the blog posts on Milesfeed now compared to those from 4-5 years ago, and there’s an awful lot more white/blank space from a lack of posts on there than there was before.

A blog you might not be reading much, or even know about is Miles Earn and Burn.  If you’re not reading it and are interested in the points and miles/rewards loyalty scene, you should be.  Matt the owner/author is a good guy, has plenty of experience in the points and miles scene, and provides focused, significant information. Doctorofcredit is an obvious and important source of daily information for those in our collective hobby, but the scope of the coverage is pretty wide.  Miles Earn and Burn is a more focused, but still insightful, resource.

I met Matt pretty randomly at a meetup in Minneapolis last year, and he’s an impressive guy.  At the time I didn’t realize that he blogged, and I doubt he knew the same about me either.  I was late to his blogging prowess, but not because it wasn’t significant, only because I get very busy, keep my head down and stay focused .  New things (and technology) don’t always hit my radar, but I’m happy there’s another new and unique resource for people in our hobby.  There’s a daily (free) email newsletter with news/deals highlights and reminders that’s really solid, and also a paid Patreon option for those willing to pay for a private Slack group and additional insider info/tips.  I appreciate the effort and consistency as much as the content, especially considering monetary compensation hasn’t really been a factor.

I miss having a podcast and maybe if the stars align in the future, a return to that medium might occur.  But consistent blogging is a challenge for anyone in any field, which is why having another solid resource that’s enjoyable to read, is really great – and highly recommended.