Regardless, it was pretty obvious and I should have seen it. Like I said, I can be very dense. I actually fell for Gary Leff’s April fools post about Russian airline with hot tubs installed on their planes. For about a minute but still. Speaking off, remember the movie “Hot tub time machine” ?
I want to do things differently going forward. Specifically no more calling anyone out unless I see something truly horrendous or ranting mood strikes. 🙂 But seriously, I think I gave enough warnings by now and need to let it be. Bottom line: this is a business and you need to be an educated consumer and look out for yourself. I want my site to be a family blog and not a ranting site, occasionally catering to family.
Author: Leana
Leana is the founder of Miles For Family. She enjoys beach vacations and visiting her family in Europe. Originally from Belarus, Leana resides in central Florida with her husband and two children.
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Jason, thanks for commenting! I will absolutely try to cover those things in the future. My post tomorrow will deal with BA offer of 100000 miles and some things a regular family can do with it. I just redeemed some Rapid Rewards points for my in-laws to fly from Florida to Boston.I will try to highlight it, because we did get a great value from the points.
Its hard to cover sweet spots for Southwest because fares change constantly. Generally, non-stops will be cheaper, but not always. I will try to highlight some other hotel chains. And I do have a cruise plus Disney camping trip reports coming up in the future. I know, most of my posts deal with numbers, so hopefully this will make it a bit more interesting.
I really like that your advice and reasoning is geared for the avg family, with modest income and realistic travel aspirations. I would like more of how to redeem flights on southwest for value and other hotel chains that don’t get a lot of print. Most of us don’t have super elite status and just want a place to sleep and store our bags. Also how about affordable areas to travel with a family and the how’s and why’s to make it affordable so if you don’t want to open 6 different credit cards and want to keep it simple have one or two but still get to travel with your family.
@ Melissa I am very happy you found my content useful. Keep coming back!
@Shannon You are exactly the target reader I am looking for! One of the reasons I started blogging was because I didn’t see cash back cards get enough attention in this industry. Thanks for stopping by!
Your blog is very helpful for my middle class family. Like your view on cash back cards.
I am new here, but checking out the site. It looks really nice! Thanks for the giveaway, and keep up the great work!
Mary, thank you very much! I will keep on ranting. But the kinder, gentler rants!
I like your honesty. I like a variety of different topics. Deals, trip reports, rants. Keep up the good work.
@Denise Thank you so much! It makes me so happy that people have stuck with me through all the weirdness. There is only so much I can do to fight the crazy, occasionally it will come out! 🙂 I am trying to tone my blog down and focus on my message.
@ Naina I am very glad that you find my card reviews helpful. Even though my focus is on bonuses, it helps to know what your plan B should be (it rhymes!) in the event of a mortgage or a loan in the near future.
@Ramsey I was wondering when you would comment! I always get nervously excited when I see your presence on my blog. The answer to your question is not as obvious as it seems. But you already knew that, didn’t you? I saw your comments on other blogs and you are pretty sharp, my friend. I secretly hope you win that gift card so we can interact some more!:) Say hi to George for me and tell him I hope he is enjoying his time with his family in Greece.
Enjoyed the reviews of lesser promoted credit cards – even if I don’t apply for them, it helps to know what’s out there!
Do you know the phone number for 1800flowers.com?
I’ve been enjoying your blog since I read your interview with MMS. Glad to hear that you will be continuing to focus on family travel in coach. Keep up the good work!
@ Amy Thanks for stopping by! I will have a 20 part trip report on a cruise coming soon. Just kidding, it consists of only 4 parts. Hope it helps. Keep commenting!
Since I am moving to Florida soon, I would like to find good deals on cruises. And I wouldn’t worry about the commas. I don’t think comma usage has anything to do with travel deals. That’s not why I read, anyway. Hope you keep writing.
@ R You are my target reader! I hope you can benefit from my site. Thanks for stopping by.
I just found your blog from twitter. And I look forward to reading more – as I’m a stay at home parent with a household income of 45k, and, wanderlust. Keep speaking to families like ours! Thanks!
@TravelerinVA Wow, thank you! Just what I need to hear. Please, keep commenting. It appears I have more actual readers than I thought. I figured most of my readers were bloggers looking for entertainment!
I am one of your normal readers, I think I have read every blog since your interview on MMS. I appreciate your honesty and your writing style. Basically, no hidden agenda or peddling of cards. Only a straight forward style that cuts to the chase and content that is usable for a family like mine.
@ Kenny I very much appreciate your words of support. I am so glad you have enjoyed my rants. 🙂 The thing about them is, they make you feel better when you write them, but afterwards you kind of feel awful. I never intended to be a troublemaker yet here we are!
I will try to put a list together sometime in the next few days. Meanwhile, did you see the Alaska Airlines visa offer, listed in my Best Deals page? Its targeted but something to think about. It pays me no commission. Also, have you looked at my hotel points bonuses list? IHG visa, Marriott visa and Club Carlson card are very strong offers and worth a look.
@Kishore Thank you so much for your kind words! No worries about not using my links so far. I’m just glad you benefit from my content. And of course I will let you use my links in the future if I still have them! I have already come out and admitted that I appreciate the commission. 🙂 As far as Amex Amazon 25 dollar discount, I did mention it in my December 2nd post, though indirectly.
I like a mix of everything, trips, credit cards, travel tips, rants which I think is what attracted me to your blog beyond the family theme. This might sound crazy but I would love to have the one blogger that ranks all the cards in the universe. I have already applied for most of the cards in your best deals list. But if there’s a separate page that ranks 11-99, that would be awesome. No need for detailed reviews, just a simple table with your ranking preference and one or two highlights of the cards would suffice.
I will agree with Uri. I like your comparison between cards and letting me know about a nice Barclays card Sally mae.
And the last but not leaset , your humor in the posts. I like that.
I would like to see the posts for deals like Amex is offering $25 cash back for $75 amazon purchases or $25 back for $75 staples purchase. Because these are they are going off after few days (we need to save the offer at least if you want to use after some time )
As of now I did not get a chance to your links for my new cards as I used cash advance in my cards and my utilization is more. I will out of the debts in end of 2014. And will get a chance to your links. I hope you will let me use your links for my new cards.
@ Nancy Powell Thanks so much for your encouragement! Actually, I have a post scheduled for next Monday that will address this topic somewhat. Its like you read my mind! I will try to focus on that in the future. And this Friday I have a mini report on Kauai. Thanks for commenting.
I hope you continue to write. I also will not be taking first-class flights with points, but rather try to get anywhere with my family of 5. I’d love for you to cover popular destinations and describe all the possible ways you could get there with points ( for example: Hawaii. All of the different credit cards or airlines you could combine together to get a family there). Thanks!
Jennifer, thank you so much! I think I will keep writing till I run out of ideas or till July, whichever comes first. Thanks!
I love the humor in your posts and the honesty. I know you genuinely want to just see people get good deals, and that comes across. I like hearing about your family travel experiences too. Keep writing!
@ Dave Thank you so much! You are so right about the commas. Sigh… I punctuate a lot of times like I would in my native language. As I said before, I never wrote in English. And my job here in US had to do with numbers, so grammar wasn’t so much of an issue. I’m doing my best. Maybe I should look into taking a course. Like I said before, please focus on my message!
@Uri Thanks for your kind words. Sometimes I wonder if those type of posts bore the heck out of people. I do think its extremely important for low spenders to pick the best combination of cards. I honestly don’t even look whether they pay me or not and usually find out only after the post is written.
I really like your posts where you “do the math” and show why some credit cards are better for some people (who like to fly business) and others are better for middle-income families. I also like the fact that you highlight cards that nobody else mentions (Sally Mae…).
Not too bad of a post. I did notice less commas!
@ Snarfdragon Mcguilacuddy Wow, quite a name! I couldn’t agree with you more. I decided to write because I felt I could add a new perspective. There are some issues as Paul pointed out. I never claimed I was the new “star” in the industry. I am simply doing my best . Whether its good enough is up to my readers to decide. People are applying through my site, so someone is clearly enjoying my rants.
Also, I have nothing against Paul. I think he is doing a terrific job and keeping it real. We have exchanged some emails but I suspect his intentions towards my blog have changed because of my “Slavery” post. You can email him or look it up on my blog if you are curious.
Either way, I wish him the best. Thank you so much for commenting!
There’s enough room for everyone PROVIDED you bring original content, or a fresh spin. I think Paul takes issue with bloggers that only regurgitate the common things that everyone else is posting. If you can bring a new angle, go for it.
@ Blaine Thanks for commenting. Deals it is. I try to compile things in my blog that apply to a regular family.
@ Mark D Thanks for taking the time to comment. You are exactly the target audience I am looking for.
Not sure if the last comment went through, but keep writing for families who need multiple tickets, not singles who can fly on a whim first class.
As a family man, I am not taking a lot of first class trips, so keep writing for us families showing how we can maximize our travel though our miles.
I enjoy reading your blog. I watch for what deals are available or coming up.
Hilde, thanks so much! You may have a 100 percent shot at that gift card! Please, keep on commenting. I really need to know what my readers want. At this point this blog is no longer my personal diary.
keep on plugging away.