August 2026 OMAAT Community Results & Monthly Winners

In early August 2026, we launched a bunch of new initiatives here at OMAAT, all with the goal of continuing to grow our (friendly) community, while having a fun gamification element to all of it.

This included launching a new daily discussions section, having a new Q&A feature, and rolling out community stories, all with a status and points element to it. Anyway, given that we have a leaderboard and we’re trying to make everything a little more fun, I’d like to recap the results and “winners” for August.

I’ll do this on a monthly basis, and in the future, the plan is for this post to be published within the first couple of days of the following month (sorry for the delay this month).

August’s most-read community story on OMAAT

In August, we introduced a path for readers to submit their own travel stories, and as part of the launch, we offered a $500 gift card to the story that got the most views. Today, we get to announce the winner.

The winner is AVEnthu88, for the story about the crazy Aeroplan redemption that was booked but never flown. It’s a relatable story, as I’ve certainly booked some pretty incredible trips, only to then not actually follow through on taking them.

What’s worth pointing out is how little separated the top four. Khan_Voyage put four Cabo properties head to head, and studentFlyer documented what Malaysia Airlines Enrich status actually gets you across the oneworld network. Meanwhile 1990_ filed a first-hand review of the new Malé Velana Terminal 1 on international arrivals.

Those were four stories with four completely different corners of travel, and the gap between first and fourth was narrow enough that the amount of time the posts were live on the site would likely have reordered them. Thanks and congrats to everyone who submitted stories in August, as I loved reading them.

Why submit a reader story? Aside from engaging with the community in a different way and sharing your point of view, an accepted story is the single biggest points award in the OMAAT rewards program — the first one of the year is worth 2,500 points on its own, enough to reach Gold status outright. If you’ve got a trip report, a status experiment, or a hot take, the submission form is open.

August’s most-loved comment on OMAAT (most “hearts”)

In August, we also introduced new rewards for the registered user who has the most loved comment on the site. The user who gets the most “hearts” on a comment they leave gets a $100 gift card. The winner here was Sean M., who received 17 “hearts” on a comment he left on a post about Air India’s new CEO.

The next three member comments with the most “hearts” all came from the Ryan Walker and Amanvari hotel debacle, with TravelinWilly, BeeDazzle, and Den B, all making contributions that people enjoyed.

Now, here’s the funny quirk. The above comment was from the registered user who received the most “hearts.” However, a non-registered (guest) user actually received 24 “hearts” on a post. That was a post about the changes we made to OMAAT, with guest C-Tripper expressing concern that our new community rewards system would lead to spam. Hah.

Hey, we’re all for letting people express themselves, and I certainly respect that take. But personally I think the past several weeks have actually shown that comments have in general become a bit kinder and more community-like… at least that’s what I’d like to think. C-Tripper, if you had registered for an account, you would’ve been the winner!

August’s hottest take on OMAAT (most “Yowzers!”)

In August, we also introduced a new way to acknowledge someone’s comment. In addition to being able to “heart” comments, you can also “Yowzers!” a comment, which is intended to be a way to express surprise. The user who gets the most “Yowzers!” on a comment they leave gets a $100 gift card.

Ten “Yowzers!” went to Tim Dunn for his breakdown of who’s actually bankrolling Delta’s new Riyadh route, and that was the comment that received the most of those. And yes, fittingly it had the word “premium” in it.

Interestingly, he appears to no longer be commenting on the site in recent weeks, which is totally his prerogative. You can decide whether this new system improves or worsens the dialogue on this site, in terms of the type of behavior it encourages. 😉

Behind him was eight “Yowzers!” on a post about the Ryan Walker and Amanvari saga, where Foboscan had a hot take.

Here’s another fun fact — four of the 10 comments that received the most “Yowzers!” came from readers without accounts. Comments are open to everyone and always will be. But if you’re already the person writing the reply that makes a hundred people hit “Yowzers!” you may as well get credit for it.

Registering takes a minute, it’s free, and from that moment everything you post starts counting toward Gold, Platinum, and Diamond status.

Bottom line

I know a lot changed here at OMAAT in August, so thanks to everyone for their patience and openness, because I realize it was a lot to keep track of. I’d say we’re off to a strong start with the changes, and most importantly, I do get the sense that the general community feel has been kinder and more constructive (and by all means tell me if you think I’m delusional and that’s not the case, though it is feedback I’ve heard echoed by several people).

Anyway, congrats to everyone who got the top spots in August, it was well deserved. We’ll reach out to the winners via the email on their member accounts to explain how to claim their bonuses, so be sure to check your inbox.

And with a certain someone seemingly no longer commenting here, the “Yowzers!” award is definitely in play going forward, if you’d like to be OMAAT’s most prolific or controversial commenter! If you haven’t yet registered for a free OMAAT account, I’d recommend doing so. The more you engage, the more status points you earn, and the fewer ads you see, along with possibly winning other rewards.