Good morning everyone, happy Sunday! I had a great time in San Diego this weekend, starting with the San Diego Travel Meetup yesterday – it was great meeting so many miles and points collectors. We talked for hours about credit card sign up bonuses, bank account bonuses, manufactured spending, and the award flights and hotels we booked recently. I will definitely be back to San Diego again later this year and look forward to seeing a few familiar faces then. I then spent a few hours with my writer Shelli, who lives in San Diego. She will be traveling a lot in May, so she has been working hard on a few blog posts to schedule while she is traveling. I have read most of them and they are very good, especially her post coming out this Wednesday regarding the coffee scene in Buenos Aires. Check back on Wednesday morning for that post!
Tomorrow is May 1, which marks the 4 year birthday / anniversary / blogiversary of Travel with Grant. It is hard to believe that the blog is turning 4 years old (first post published on May 1, 2013). A lot has changed over those last 4 years. I miss the good old days of buying Vanilla Reload Cards at Office Depot (with a Chase Ink Bold / Plus) then at CVS (with AMEX Old Blue Cash). Then the good times I had with my many Bluebird, Serve, and Redbird cards. Then the good days using Nationwide Visa Buxx cards and churning credit cards. Ahh, RIP great deals.
To celebrate my 4 year blogiversary, I am giving away 10 $10 Amazon eGift Cards. Just leave a comment below regarding your favorite blog post or topic I covered on this blog during the last 4 years and I will pick my 10 favorite answers. The giveaway comments section is open through 11:59pm PT on Monday night (May 1) and I will pick 10 winners on Tuesday morning and email them a $10 Amazon eGift Card.
A big thank you to all my readers (both new and old) along with all the friends and bloggers I have met over the years. Talking and tweeting with you always brings a big smile to my face. Thanks again and have a great weekend everyone!
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- Grant and Ray @ Chicago Seminars (October 2014)
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- Grant and Randy @ BACON Las Vegas (September 2014)
Thanks
Congrats on 4 years!!
Grant, you’re the best. I call you a friend though we’ve never met. You blog is my favorite. I’ve utilized many of your ideas and tips. Fantastic blog and such a nice person.
Well done my friend !
D. Flowers
I started doing this about 6 months before they took away vanilla reloads. I knew how it worked in theory, but never felt comfortable enough to pull the trigger. A year later I was buying $6k in amex gift cards a few times a month…
Thanks for your contribution to what we do.
I loved your posts about using the Apple Pay promotion Discover had a couple years ago.
Congratulations! Great meeting you!
Hi Grant! Congratulations!! :) I love your blog! I especially liked your post about the origin of Dulce de Leche in Argentina:
http://travelwithgrant.boardingarea.com/2017/03/27/endulging-in-mate-and-dulce-de-leche-in-buenos-aires-shelli/#more-16688
Dulce de Leche is one of my favorite foods! I loved the story, and I definitely agree that it is worth making a trip to Argentina for! :)
I benefited IMMENSELY from your March 27 post, “How to Redeem your World of Hyatt Free Anniversary Night Certificate.” This post prompted me to apply my free anniversary night to extend a vacation run my bride (of 35 years!) and I are taking to Singapore in Qatar’s A-350 business class (thanks to their “two fly for the price of one” promotion). Thanks, Grant!
Happy Blogiversary! I liked this post–http://travelwithgrant.boardingarea.com/2017/02/13/a-cheap-day-in-bogota-colombia-monserrat-funicular-roasted-corn-uber-rides/. My mother is from Colombia but I haven’t been there for a visit in over 20 years. I enjoyed the pictures in that post.
Your recent Amex spreadsheet post was super helpful. And, your privacy policy is wonderful for insomnia.
I enjoy articles on which credit cards you apply for.
Congratulations Grant!!! I really enjoyed the “Chasing American Airlines Elite Status and Knowing When to Stop” post!
I enjoy reading about your more unusual travel adventures!
Hey, congrats on 4 years. I really enjoyed the article describing the company that lets you meet up with a native of the country you’re visiting. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the name of it!
Shelli wrote about her experience using Joey Travel: http://travelwithgrant.boardingarea.com/2017/03/13/joeytravel-has-a-local-friend-in-every-city-my-review-from-santiago-chile-shelli/
My favorite blog post was about Google Flights and profiting on timeshare presentations! I didn’t even know this was an option! I need a cheaper flight to make everything work for a first time trip to Hawaii and as a newbie to miles and points! Thanks so much for your blog!
Happy Anniversary!
We have been MSing for about 4 years now and I think we started about the same time as your blog! Thanks to you, we have become more educated about credit card offers, MS, great hotel & airfare deals, just as you have become a better educator to those us who follow your blog and the information you have shared with us all.
It is all much appreciated and we wish you many more years of anniversaries to come and many more awesome travel opportunities!!!!!
Bill P
All the posts about Southwest points have been very helpful to me. Congrats on the anniversary!
Happy 4 years!!! Woohoo!!! Where did time go? My favorite blog post is actually something you wrote recently! The timing of the post was perfect. It was the post about not having to Pay VAT at Argentina Hotels when using a Foreign Credit Card! I’m planning a trip there so that little tip is super helpful! I feel little details like that don’t get mentioned often so I’m really thankful you devoted a post to let readers know. Thanks for helping me save some money! =)
i loved your stuff on serve and redbird back in the day. i wish i didn’t have to use the past tense of the verb love! oh…the good OLD days!! ha
congrats on quatro.
I liked this article: An Introduction to Hotel Hustle (My Favorite Hotel Award Search Tool)
Happy anniversary!! I remember the days of bluebird and how, you were trying to come up with logo for your blog! Wish you good luck ahead
I like reading about your interactions with various customer services (e.g. over twitter and otherwise)–really good to know which companies offer good service, and which don’t.
Congratulations on a great four years!
My favorites are the ongoing series on your app-o-ramas and the outcomes. These are very instructive because you provide guidance on the reason you applied for each card and details on the outcome for each one. I get a good sense of how to approach the lender, plus I I don’t waste opportunities.
Thanks so much for sharing.
Happy Blogiversary! I don’t think I can possibly pick 1 favorite post from the past 4 years, as there have been far too many great ones for me to pick favorites :). I will say that I love reading about most any of the travel deals you find & also about your travel adventures. Thanks for all you do & keep up the great work!
I enjoyed the Hotel Hustle post.
Happy blog anniversary!
My favorite post will have to be “Shelli’s World Coffee Tour – First Stop, San Diego” because: A) This was my introduction to Shelli and she is a wonderful contributor, B) it introduced me to Birdrock, which is now my favorite place to get coffee in San Diego, C) It’s about San Diego, my hometown (though I’m also envious of your In-n-Out meetups at the District in Tustin being a UCI alumnus)
And D…because choosing “Chasing American Airlines Elite Status and Knowing When to Stop” would be unfair and biased for me.
Happy Blogiversary. I appreciate the money saving tips you’ve shared here over the years. Thanks :)
I consider myself to be pretty shrewd, but I find that I can always learn a new trick from Grant. So was the case when Southwest had a sale. “Simply cancel the old reservation and rebook under the lower fare.” I like how you pointed this out in your blog. Thanks for the great tip Grant!
Also I love the app-0-ramas. Very enjoyable reading and I may learn something.
Also I love that Grant stresses the importance of being a responsible MS’er. Leave some for the next guy (or gal)!
I liked all of the excitement around when you made it to the big leagues and got on prior2bparding and then boarding Area!
I liked your trip report for Mykonos and Santorini! Gave me some inspiration when planning my own trip there!
I’ve never been there, so that trip report is not from me :(
Grant no need to put me in the drawing … just wanted to say congrats on a great 4 yrs. I maintain that your great attitude has made your blog the most enjoyable to read during this time. When I got into bluebird way back in the day I remember first reading your blog to get detailed instructions on how to MS w bluebird. Congrats and here’s to the next 4 (and more) years !!
I like Chasing American Airlines Elite Status and Knowing When to Stop. I like hearing about other experiences in the points game.
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