Here we are: 2015. Another year of life and travel.

2014 was a big year for this little blog. I experimented a lot, and threw a lot up on the wall just to see what would stick. The readership from 2013 to 2014 quadrupled (!) and more readers started interacting via email and social media – which was awesome.

The posts that made the Top 10 were the ones that mined some little data point, were compilations of research, or simply anecdotes about an experience. A couple of them were written in 2013, but widely read in 2014. I find the data fascinating. The more I learn about what sticks with readers, the more I realize I can’t calculate what will be a “good post”  – a fact which drives me to keep evolving.

With that spirit, cheers to a new year of life and travel. I hope to keep growing the blog and writing more. Thank you for reading!

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The Top 10

• 10. Trip Report: Economy on Virgin Atlantic JFK-LHR (11/2/13)

Just a quick jaunt to London to see the Tori Amos musical The Light Princess. When I was still trying to like Delta.

• 9. Amex Premier Rewards Gold Vs. EveryDay Preferred (3/26/14)

I dumped the PRG and switched to the EveryDay Preferred. It’s case-by-case, as most things in this hobby are. This is/was my reasoning.

• 8. Bye, Bluebird: My Experience Getting the Serve Card (4/8/14)

2014 saw me go from Bluebird to Serve and ultimately to REDbird. 2015 will hopefully bring new MS opportunities, as 2014 left us with a barren landscape to deal with. The transition from Bluebird to Serve was pretty smooth. Let’s hope REDbird is equally easy.

• 7. Manufacturing spend post-Vanilla at CVS (4/7/14)

There were a few ways to manufacture spend in April of 2014. Most of these have gone the way of the dodo.

• 6. Confirmed: Amex Serve $50 Bonus Works with Amazon Payments + Posts Instantly (4/22/14)

Amex offered a $50 bonus with two direct deposits into new Serve accounts. This post proved that Amazon Payments played nicely with that.

• 5. My US Airways Flight Attendant Interview (4/11/14)

I randomly applied to be a flight attendant and was flown down to CLT to be interviewed. I had no idea that there was a whole subculture of people dying to be flight attendants. Sort of an “outside looking in” perspective.

• 4. Amex Serve: Which banks charge cash advance fees? (4/21/14 with a few updates after)

The beginning of the end with me and ol’ Serve. I loved using my US Bank Club Carlson Visa to load up serve, until one day, out of nowhere, the reloads started to code as cash advances.

• 3. Review: Wingtips Lounge @ JFK (11/2/13)

A truly WTF moment. Perhaps I’m the only blogger to ever review this lounge? It’s still one I like very much, and provided a lot of debates about JFK/T4/lounges in general. So interesting. I still love their curry dishes.

• 2. FoundersCard Membership: Is it worth it? (3/6/14)

Clearly I should write in April more. Most of the posts here are from that month! This one is from March, though. I signed up for FoundersCard last year and have really been enjoying the benefits. There were a few other posts about this card as well, all linked within the original.

#1!

MasterCard: World Vs World Elite Benefits (5/12/13)

By far the post that got the most clicks. A lot of people transitioned from World to World Elite by way of the Barclaycard Arrival, Ink Bold, or other happenstance. World Elite is supposedly different from World – although over a year later the benefits continue to be shrouded in mystery (at least to me).

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Bottom line

Looking back, a lot of this information is now obsolete, but was hugely relevant at the time it was published. Some have held up from 2013 and others will need an update in 2015 – that’s how it goes as the game continues to change.

In these posts, we have a couple of trip reports, a few posts about Serve, a credit card comparison, and some posts of nothing but research. So cool.

Maybe this can be considered a “best of” list or simply an introduction to the style of the blog. Like most “greatest hits,” I think the best stuff is buried within the Archives. #DeepCuts forever.

Happy New Year!

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