Ben Wofford, writing for Rolling Stone, about the secretive community of frequent flyers whose goal in life is to outwit the airlines and fly around the world for free:

As he delved deeper, Schlappig learned about a third level, a closely guarded practice called Manufacture Spend, where Hobbyists harness the power of the multitudes of credit cards in their pockets. Airline-affiliated credit cards award points for every dollar spent, so over the decades, Hobbyists manipulated the system by putting purchases on credit cards without ultimately spending anything at all. At its simplest, this included purchasing dollar coins from the U.S. Mint with a credit card and immediately using them to pay off the charge. Schlappig read one detailed post after another that insisted Manufacture Spend was the only true way to fly for free — like sliding a coin into a slot machine and yanking it back with clear string.

Eventually, the best way he learned to visualize this bureaucratic gamesmanship was to see it as a series of table games on a sprawling casino floor — and if the airlines were the house, Schlappig realized, the Hobbyists were the card-counters.

The article was a riveting read. The whole process sounds intriguing to me, but realize that the airlines have the power to yank your frequent flyer miles if they detect misbehavior on your part.

A great Sunday read. [Via Lewis Smith]