[Closed] Daily Discussion — Sunday, September 27, 2026

Ben — I’ve been reading OMAAT since 2009, and I still remember reading the blog in my dorm room in college dreaming about the incredible outsized value that seemed possible with miles and points.

This all eventually culminated in an absolutely incredible round-the-world trip with my husband in 2016: JFK–DUB–AUH–MEL-SYD–SIN–NRT–JFK, with Emirates First, the Etihad Apartment, Singapore First, and JAL First.  Those were the days!

And that was hardly the only one. Thanks in very large part to what I learned from you, my husband and I have taken countless trips to far-off places over the years, often in aspirational premium cabins that I never would have imagined experiencing otherwise — South Africa, Australia many times, Easter Island, the world’s longest flight to Singapore, and plenty more.

Those trips are some of the defining memories of our life together. I genuinely don’t think many of them would have happened without OMAAT.

I’ve also watched the site change quite a bit in recent times. To me, OMAAT feels much more polished, professional, and commercial than it did in the earlier days, and the mix of content seems to have shifted noticeably toward credit cards, signup bonuses, and other more monetizable topics.

I do miss some of the old personality, although I think you still get that in smaller doses...

What I miss much more, though, are the little hacks, sweet spots, loopholes, strange routing opportunities, and clever ways of extracting outsized value from programs. That was what made this hobby feel like a game to me. There was always some odd rule to understand, some overlooked redemption to discover, or some way to make a trip work that felt almost impossibly good.

That element seems to have almost completely disappeared, and for me that’s the biggest change.

I completely understand that this is a business and that both the economics of publishing and the miles-and-points world itself have changed enormously since 2009. I’m not criticizing you for making a living from it. I’m genuinely curious whether this shift has been intentional, whether those opportunities simply don’t exist the way they once did, or whether this is just where the broader hobby has evolved.

I still read because I enjoy your voice and aviation perspective. I just find myself missing that sense of discovery — the feeling that reading OMAAT might reveal some wonderfully obscure trick that would send me down a rabbit hole and eventually turn into another amazing trip with my husband.

Mostly, though, I wanted to say thank you. Your blog genuinely changed the way my husband and I traveled, and in doing so gave us experiences and memories together that I’ll always treasure. I’d genuinely love to hear your thoughts on how OMAAT has evolved and where you see it going.

@matt_actual I'm so grateful that you've been reading for so long... that means the world to me, and I'm even more delighted if I was able to play just a small part in any of the trips you've taken. As you say, those are often the best memories we have.

I also really appreciate the honest feedback. You're absolutely right about the shift you're noticing with the little tricks. It's not deliberate, as that's the stuff I enjoy the most as well.

I think this probably just comes down to the fact that miles & points have become so much more mainstream, and the number of tricks just nearly isn't as big as it used to be:

-- There aren't mistake fares as frequently as there used to be, as airline systems have become savvier
-- Amazing deals are shut down much faster than they used to be, given how much more quickly they spread
-- Award pricing isn't as good as it used to be, and neither is award availability

Now, that's where things currently stand, but I want to think of how I can incorporate more content like this into the blog. Are there specific things you find interesting? Just a rundown of the best sweet spots, and/or the mechanics of redeeming points? Or anything else I'm missing?

I think in general one of the issues in the miles & points hobby is that it's much harder to get a dopamine hit, so to speak, as the deals just aren't as exciting as they used to be. But again, it's an area where I want to improve, so if you or others have feedback on the types of tricks you'd most enjoy, I'd love to hear 'em!

There still are deals to be had, but they don’t seem to come as readily through pure mileage redemptions as they once did.  The old dopamine hit came from absurd mileage sweet spots; now the interesting opportunities are often hybrids of cash, miles, flexible fares, taking advantage of schedule-changes, etc.

For example, I recently booked a one-way United ticket from Brisbane to Newark for $2,675.73 per person — Polaris BNE–SFO and Polaris SFO–EWR.  This is during peak season, on the exact dates and routing we wanted.  It’s not quite the dopamine hit of the old 67,500 MileagePlus miles + $131.53 days (those really were the days!) but it still feels like excellent value, especially because the ticket can be canceled for United credit if something better comes along.  Since booking the ticket, United adjusted the schedule, which unlocks even more options.

On the outbound, we managed an incredible AAdvantage redemption to Auckland: 91,500 miles + $39.50 each for IAD–DFW–AKL in business, including 78P bulkhead seats.

Put the two together and it’s really not looking too shabby.

Those are the kinds of opportunities I still love finding. The “loopholes” haven’t completely disappeared; they’ve just shifted. Instead of being almost entirely about finding a magical mileage chart sweet spot, the game now seems to be more hybrid — combining miles, cash fares, flexible cancellation rules, credit-card benefits, schedule-change opportunities, positioning, and a little creativity.

That evolution is actually interesting in its own right. I just wish there were more coverage of that kind of strategy, because that’s the part of the hobby that it still exciting.

"You can BUY the miles, you just can't USE the miles... and the USE part is really the most important part." - if life was Seinfeld.

Just set up an Al Fursan account and bought 346K miles to the tune of ~$5300+ taxes and fees.  Made 4 bookings, and each one went into "Hold" status.  An hour later I got emails saying the payment didn't go through.  Called Saudia about one particular reservation-- my First Class RUH-JFK--- and they on-the-spot cancelled it without being prompted to.  Moment of panic but the award showed up again immediately.  I figured I'd call in and book over the phone.  After an excruciating 45 minutes wherin I had to try 3 different credit cards and list the numbers a grand total of 8 times--- I am told that because my account is new, I cannot use the miles.  I need to wait ten days.

The F award is now missing from the page (albeit J is still there).

About to go through some severe anxiety for the next week and a half.

Wouldn’t wanna be this Cessna pilot…