Merry New Year!

Some people call it the most wonderful time of the year.  Screw that.  I hate any time of the year when my elite balances are going to turn to zero. 

Having said that, I have a lot to be thankful for.  After a year of unemployment, I found a job.  My wife recovered from a serious illness.  And I have two wonderful kids who continue to thrive, even if dinner time is a struggle.  2010 was an F.  2011 was an A-.

As you know, I am not spending as much time on this blog, since there really isn't much going on for GS12.  Most of my time is spent on two other blogs:


Mysuitepoints focuses solely on hotel deals.  There were 10 or so hotel partners last year, and I look for deals that are either ridiculously cheap, or free.  It's a site for "quick hits" rather than extensive analysis and I post as many deals as possible that won't be a waste of time.

Freepointsite is turning out to be a lot of fun.  It focuses on non-travel loyalty programs, ranging from My Coke Rewards to Pampers Points.  For the most part, it is a list of free codes to get points at any of those sites.  I laughed at first until I realized A) how many free points these sites tend to give away and B) they have pretty good prizes (e.g., You can get movie tickets at Pampers Points.). 

I update both of those sites daily and look forward to the day when I make my fortune from google adsense (Okay, that'll never happen.).

Points are good, but I hope that you have a safe, happy and healthy new year.