As part two of my celebration of meeting this milestone of actually running a blog, a scary thing to say the very least, I thought I would touch on some of the things I am most proud of the past year.
First the overall look/feel/composition of the blog. I am, for the most part, happy of the look of the blog. I constantly compare the multi-tab look of other blogs to mine and try to keep mine clean and simple. I struggle with wanting more and more tabs and space as there is always something I want to tweak or add, but think simple is better and keeps me from going overboard.
I am pleased with the Essential Tab the most. I try not to just clutter it up with 1000 posts making them all essential. I try to always think of posts I get the most e-mail questions about and put only these and ones that are essential to travel on Delta there. A work in progress, but progressing nicely I think.
I love the Delta Points logo I chose (had to play with the colors today just for fun). I get tons of comments from Delta people when I fly and that was part of the idea as they see it is NOT Delta Air Lines, yet what is it. Perfect. Just what I wanted.
I am also thrilled to have Tamara posting every other week. She brings years of travel knowledge as well as a woman’s perspective to travel that I could never have. I am thinking of, if she is game and readers would like it, to have her post each Friday? What do you think?
Gosh I am using a lot of I’s here but I ( yeah I know ) hope you agree with all of this. I digress. I am enjoying the Rookie Wednesday theme. It reminds me, not just on Wednesdays, but each day to try not to write so over the top and cryptic. I know you all don’t need to be spoon fed (there are other blogs for that) and I respect your travel knowledge. At that same time, I don’t want to be so Flyer Talk “coy” that you cannot discern what I am saying.
So what posts for the year am I most pleased with our “beloved airline”? There are a bunch.
- Understanding the “mighty schedule change rule“. Since finding low level seats at peak times on the best routes is just about fantasy, this is a huge way to get what Delta “says” you can do with Skymiles. Having said that, it has been fun to learn and find out that not only Medallion status affects your ability to find low level seats, but also getting Delta to admit that having the Delta AMEX card could affect your chances as well (ht to fti from FlyerTalk on that one btw)
- Almost Rookie Wednesday worthy my post on retention bonus points. We all work so hard to get new cards and to add segments to trips or click on whatever tiny link we can find to grab a few points here and there.
- Helping out and speaking at frequent flyer “DO’s”. It was great fun to speak with Greg, the Frequent Milers, at Ann Arbor this year and help out at the Chicago Seminars hosted by THE Frugal Travel guy and THE Points Guy. I look forward to being a featured speaker on Delta next year.
- My reader input on “TOP-TIPS” for flying. Gosh you readers have so many great ideas. I get comments all the time that this little tab has just the best hints for travel and is well worth the LONG read. Again, most of these are not from my head, but my smart readers and I love that I can host them. Well done!
- My interviews in the press about mileage runs, as well as the numerous other bits and features I have been in. It is fun when the NY Times and others call you for input on a piece they are working on etc. Also, I am really pleased with the positive relationship I have with Delta Air Lines. They know I am “press” but at the same time I think they know I have their “back” and am an unashamed “PRO” Delta blogger. Even without the blog, as is evident by my decades of flying NWA & Delta, shows I love my airline!
- My posts about the best Skyteam business class seats. I get TONS of views each day about these posts. I need to keep working on these and maybe for a Rookie Wednesday post about seat searches as this seems to be a topic so many want to know about all the time!
Anyway, I could go on all day long. I have had many questions on how long it takes me each day to run the blog or write a post. Naturally, some posts take longer than others. For the most part, I spend 1-4 hours a day on the blog. Some days, all day long. Others, like when in the air, I try to get a post set to go live while I am on the move so work extra the day before and none the day of travel. After a year, I have found some balance but tend to want to be live on the blog 24/7! (still working on that btw).
I will have the drawing later today for the winners from yesterdays post. Also, I will make one small change; I will have the the list of all the small prize winners via random.org and post that list and then post the final announcement, again via random.org, of the Silver Medallion Status winner on Monday’s post! – Rene
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Love your blog…it’s on my Google reader. Just to let you know, our most recent flight on Delta was interrupted by a major mechanical problem, resulting in our return home 29 hours late. Delta did the right thing by us with granting us 19,000 free miles. We are happy!
@Michael – wow bummer about the delay, great about the free miles and nice move by Delta!
congrats + 1! Part one of a new daily series of congratulations.
Congrats！！！
Congrats!! My how time flies. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the blog from the beginning but have to say it just keeps getting better and better!