Great News & A Giveaway
It has taken a little while to complete the process, but I am excited that Miles To Memories has finally joined the BoardingArea network. To celebrate this occasion I want to take the opportunity to introduce the site and give away a $100 Visa gift card along with three “mystery” prizes.
About Miles To Memories
As you can see, there is an “About Us” link at the top so I won’t bother repeating all of that information here. Miles To Memories evolved from my original site Family ‘Round The World. In 2007, my wife, son and I embarked on a 17 months around the world adventure. During much of that trip I blogged about our adventures and experiences.
When we returned home, both my wife and I went back to our careers and for awhile I didn’t write often, but we did continue to travel. In early 2013 the three of us once again left home, this time for a three month backpacking trip through Europe. It was at this time that I decided to begin writing on a regular basis again.
Eventually I decided that a re-branding of the website was needed since so much of my focus and expertise was on miles, points and award travel. The name Miles To Memories is perfect in my opinion since it allows me to write about miles & points alongside the memories that are created with them.
On the site, you can still find every blog post I have written dating back all the way to 2007. I am always open to feedback and love giving advice to those who need it. I have now traveled to over fifty countries with my family and a dozen more on my own. My goal is to have rich and deep travel experiences for the least amount of money possible.
Favorite Posts
I thought as part of this introduction I would recommend a few posts to help you get to know the site better. I will break my recommendations down into a few categories. This is by no means an exhaustive list of posts, so feel free to explore deeper.
Also, if are just here for the giveaway, scroll down a bit as it is at the bottom of this post!
Travel Posts
- The Craziness Of Songkran – Our experience attending the Songkran Festival in Bangkok in 2008.
- Back To The Island Life – Spending some time on Koh Sukhorn in Southern Thailand.
- The Spectacular Great Ocean Road – Our drive along one of Australia’s most scenic roads.
- Words Can’t Describe This Place – Visiting the stunning Milford Sound on New Zealand’s South Island
- Shawn Reece’s Birthday – One of my favorite stories from our trip. A day where everything went wrong.
- Visiting Ephesus – A recount of our visit to the Ephesus ruins in 2013.
- Getting To India – A trip report and reviews of several flights on my way to India earlier this year.
- An Iconic Experience – Crusing Kerala’s Backwater On A Houseboat – A truly magical experience from my visit to India.
There are so many more, if you would like to poke around!
Hotel Reviews
I also love to review hotels. In fact, in the next couple of weeks I will have some reviews of fantastic hotels including the Park Hyatt Tokyo. For now, here are a few of my recent reviews.
- Crowne Plaza Changi Airport Singapore – This is an amazing hotel located right inside of the airport.
- Grand Wailea A Waldorf Astoria Property – A sprawling property in a wonderful area of Maui. Great for families!
- Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa – Another Maui review, although on a different area of the island.
Family Travel Topics
I have written so much about family travel over the years, so it is hard to narrow it down to a few posts. Here are a couple of recent posts with relevant information. (There is also a ton of family travel information in the travel posts as well.)
- Traveling Families – Finding Hotels That Allow Children For Free – Finding family friendly hotels can be difficult.
- Would You Sleep In An Airport – Sleeping in an airport with children? We have done it a few times.
Miles & Points For Beginners
I have also written quite a few posts geared towards beginners. Here are a few, but there are many more if you are just getting started in this hobby.
- Travel Hacking To Free Hotels – My Recent Redemptions Across 5 Programs – A look at the redemption I made during my 45 day trip earlier this year to India, the Middle East & North Asia.
- Credit Card Reconsideration Strategies For When Calling In Fails – What you can do if calling in still results in a denial.
- $3000 Worth Of Travel For $200 – The Economics Of Our Recent Trip – This is a post from this past week about a recent trip my son and I took.
- Avoiding Pitfalls With The IHG Best Price Guarantee – I share my experiences in making sure at Best Price Guarantee is honored.
- How Your FICO Score Is Calculated – Part of a series for true beginners.
Manufactured Spend
This is just a small sampling of what I have written. Many of my posts on manufactured spending are time sensitive, so I have included some that are still relevant.
- One Way To Offset Manufactured Spending Costs – A look at a strategy to offset the costs of manufactured spending.
- Staples Sells $200 Visa Gift Cards Online & My Experience Ordering Them – My experience with a Staples deal that is still ongoing.
- Sending Up To $1,000 Per Month For Free With Amazon Payments – A basic write-up on Amazon Payments for beginners.
- Manufactured Spend – Is It Worth It? – My recent thoughts on Manufactured Spend
Giveaway
To celebrate Miles To Memories joining the BoardingArea network, I am giving away a $100 Visa gift card along with three “mystery prizes” worth $5-$10 each. Everyone will have the opportunity to get four entries. You will earn one entry for commenting on this post telling me what travel topics you like to read about.
If you comment, then it will unlock the ability to earn three additional entries by utilizing social media. The only required method for an entry is to comment on this post. I also urge you to subscribe to receive our posts once a day via email (form is in the sidebar) and follow me on Instagram where I post all of the photos from my travels.
The contest ends on 6/30/14 at 11:59PM PDT. Each person can only win one prize and the maximum prize value is $100 for the Visa gift card and $10 each for the “mystery prizes”. A winner will be chosen randomly and I make the final determination on eligibility. U.S. residents only. Good luck!
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Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Thanks for the update, I guess I missed it the first time 🙁
So who won the giftcard?
I posted the winners in a follow up post!
https://milestomemories.boardingarea.com/giveaway-winners/
[…] many of you know, last week I ran a giveaway in celebration of Miles to Memories joining BoardingArea. The contest ended last night at 11:59PM […]
I like reading reviews on destinations I have yet to enjoy. That way I am much more efficient when I do get that opportunity!
-Nick
talk about where the best secret beaches are in california
Trip reports are great
Tips on manufactured spending are insightful. Gaming the credit card companies seems to be a popular game with bloggers.
Congratulations on joining boarding area. I like to learn more about manufactured spending. Also, I’ve enjoyed the travel reports. Thank you.
I enjoy reading the Manufactured Spend and would like to read more of this.
I spent 30 fantastic years in the travel business, so I love reading anything and everything about travel. Since I’m not traveling for free anymore, I like hearing about good deals.
The best ways to book Business/First awards using US Airways miles!
oh, I meant to say to Asia!!!
I want to know more about great vacation spots.
Welcome to the BA crew!
Flight redemption tips, trip reports & hotel reviews make interesting readings! Thanks!!
I like just about anything on travel, but like tips on off-peak travel deals.
Trip reports of not super expensive hotels. more real life 🙂
I enjoy just about anything travel related, so your blog is a frequent stop! Thankss
I enjoy posts about getting potential random bonus miles, either hotel or airline, since I don’t go the multiple credit card route. I don’t mind that it might be only a few at a time. They all add up for someone who doesn’t travel that much.
Keep up the great work!
i loved trip reports on airline and hotels, with lots of pics about food.
Glad that you’ll be part of the BoardingAreaNetwork. I’ve enjoyed your posts, you have a lot of unique content. A lot of the information in the posts on Manufactured Spend was new to me. I’m looking forward to reading more from you on that subject. Keep writing:)
I really enjoy trip reports.
Trip reports.
I love reading trip reports since it gives me ideas on where I can go with my miles. I especially like trip reports that show you the place you’re visiting. It gets kinda old only reading hotel + lounge + airplane seat reviews.
I like reading posts about cheap flight opportunities.
I’m glad to have found your blog and would like to hear about national parks outside the U.S.A.
I like hearing about family travel opportunities on the cheap!
I’m hoping you can find some good topics out of the million or so questions I’ve asked you of late! Thanks again!
Good to see some discussion of driving trips,
I’m interested most in family travel.
I’d like to read more about manufactured spending.
Love reading about planes and airlines around the world. Also love photography and pets.
I like them all… Keep up the good work.
[…] a $100 Visa gift card along with three mystery prizes. You can earn an entry by commenting on the original post and additional entries by liking us on Facebook & […]
The trip reports are really useful to read!
I love reading about unique experiences while traveling
love the writeups on manu spend
Thanks Shawn for all the helpful tips and for the great photos and stories about you and your family’s travels! Keep up the great work!
Thanks for the still-active link for the 100K Citi AA card!
I love articles on meeting minimum spend and maximizing points.
I like reading trip reports and manufactured spending articles!
Love Boarding Area!
More local reviews please. Small mom-and-pop stores and restaurants, specialty shops, anything that speaks about the old days.
Boardingarea became even more interesting. Thank yo
I like to hear abt family travelling..
i like to read about comparisons of all the “cheap” travel sites like hotels.com and expedia so i have input in which one really is the best there are so many out there
I love reading about saving money while traveling!
Love finding out about new places to plan future travel to.
Practical, up-to-date, well-documented information about MS. Very helpful!
I like that you cover some family travel, bit that it’s not all about family travel.
I would like to see more attention paid to travel FROM South America to the rest of the world. And travel options in and around that continent. Ditto the desire for as many articles on maximizing redemptions as possible.
Looking for reviews on int’l business and first class air travel as well as mistake fares and other good travel deals
Love to read trip reports. Good luck to your new site!
I enjoy reading your trip reports including hotel reviews. Thanks for all you do!
Love to hear about how to travel for free or nearly free!
Welcome! I look forward to reading your posts! I’d be particularly interested in unique ways to earn points/miles/do MS.
I like to read about places to travel with my children.
I love reading trip reports
Congrats on the move to BA!
I love the information about manufacture spend.
I love to read about traveling with kids.
I just discovered your blog and I love it!
for me it’s the reviews of hotels that I love……….
Like the hotel and airline reviews
I like reading about ways to save money with travel.
I enjoyed your story about Amtrak adventure!
I like to read how to maximize reward flights with examples how to book.
Travel deals!
Off the beaten path travels and surprises!
i love reading about family travel
I like packing tips for different purposes and trips.
Planning to cruise to Ephesus, enjoyed your comments
Always like to hear about new places to travel to that are less talked about and the best ways to get there.
[…] to Memories is giving away a $100 Visa gift card. Enter by June […]
I love to read hotel reviews! Also, i prefer reading about more off-the-beaten path locations since I love exploring!
I enjoy reading travel reports, as well as credit card reviews.
Love your trip report, particularly on tips on transport etc.
I like to read about MS and accruing points efficiently for families.
Like to read about bonus points/miles opportunities!
I enjoy the trip reports and “unadvertised” deals for MS. Thanks!
A smarter traveler thanks to your posts
I like reading the insider tips. And not just on MS side or the deal side. Those too, but insider tips on traveling – those that help out the little things that can so often go wrong for those not versed in such topics. Thanks for offering the giveaway!
Just got into the whole mileage and credit card stuff, everything on this site has been useful!
Knowledge is a good thing when traveling! Thanks!
Here’s to travel, in all its glory and grit! Thanks for showing us the ins & outs!
I like trip reports, especially those that cover more off the beaten path type trips that are less frequently written about. It appears you have several of those and I look forward to reading them.
I’m especially interested in the hotel reports. I have stayed at The Changi Airport Crowne Plaza twice and loved it, so I definitely plan on reading your report..
I love the budget friendly trips and the trips down south.
I love reading interesting trip reports
Congrats and good luck!
I like reading about tricks to get great deals on hotels and flights
Love getting new travel tips!
Good luck with the blog!
I’ve been a fan of Shawn’s site for awhile now, and as somebody who’s hopefully going to be able to travel a lot more soon I’m looking forward to learning more tips and more about places I want to travel.
I enjoy posts on the best way to use points for International travel or how to upgrade. Thank you.
[…] enter, just head on over to the post about the giveaway, leave a comment and click “I left a comment” on the giveaway widget. After […]
Love reading trip reports!
I like to read about Manufactured Spend.
Domestic traveler. Love to explore DC area. Hotel points are a big draw. Without them, it’s hard to have an extensive and enjoyable stay. I also do a bit of MS. I try to cover as many misc. travel expenses as possible! 🙂
I love to read the miles and points for beginners as I learn a lot from it and know where to start and what to pay attention or be careful of, I also love to read about the trip report so I can get imagination on which country I want to visit next with my miles and points. Thanks for introducing me to miles and points! Keep up the good work!
i like reading about budget friendly trips and about hotel experiences
I like to read about ways to earn miles/points!
Love reading the whole site, but have to admit that the ms has been the most helpful to me since I just started this adventure just a month ago.
I enjoy reading about travel hacking 🙂 I can’t afford to di ut yet myself, but someday I hope to!
More trip reports please.
Great blog! Thanks for all the wonderful tips!
Thank you Lori!
I’d like to hear about more MS opportunities.
Love to see more options for MS
thanks for the spirit air reviews, I fly them with their credit card off peak times from msp to Fll for 10000 points round trip. 2 points per $1 with their card, so MS is easy. They also give away a lot of free points,My wife and I just got 40000 for waiting in line for 40 minutes at a mall in Mpls. Upgrade to the big front seat and all is good.
It is good to hear about people who fly and enjoy Spirit. So many in this community are scared off by them. I definitely agree the Big Front Seat is great.
[…] Just a reminder if you haven’t heard or are new to the site, I am giving away a $100 gift card in celebration of joining BoardingArea and you still have a few days to enter! […]
I like travel deals.
I particular enjoy your trip reports on travelling w/ trains. It’s a refreshing take from all the first class air travels’ experiences! 🙂
Thanks Kai!
MS assistance!
the blog always helps me maximize the points that i’ve earned with my hard work!
I actually like reading other trip reports (especially complemented with pictures).
I would love to hear tips for travelling with kids!
I like to read about redemptions, esp airline awards.
I love reading about different ways to MS, and airline routing rules that allow you to maximize reward flights!
I prefer to read about manufactured spending and award chart sweet spots
I like reading about the various redemption options for traveling from points A to point B. For example, here are your options for flying between US and Europe using United miles, American miles, Avios, etc.
I like reading about aspirational hotel and airline redemptions
I’d love to hear more about other ways of MS
Congrats Shawn. Keep up the good work. Your blog keeps getting better and better. One request: Could you provide some info on what joining the BoardingArea network means?
BoardingArea is a big blog network of travel blogs. It just helps me gain exposure. Thanks Alex!
love reviews of trips, gives me an idea of whether i’d want to visit places i haven’t been to before
I like to read about various destinations as well as how you were able to get there via points and miles.
I love reading about how to have a local experience when traveling. I am all about going to the traditionaly touristy spots just to say I did it but if I’m going somewhere for longer than a week I like to feel like a local and not run from museum to museum.
I enjoyed your Amtrak booking guide, it’s one of the the best ones on the web!
Thanks Michael! I will have the first part of my Amtrak trip report up today.
Welcome to the blog! I’m looking forward to reading your trip reports!
Thanks James!
I really enjoy the trip reports detailing the places you went, things you saw and did, and how miles and points made it happen.
Congratulations Shawn
Thanks Oscar!
Thanks for all of the good tips
When I’m going to travel, I like to look up the really good diners and restaurants in the town I’m going to visit. I try to avoid chain restaurants and to go to local favorites.
I always try to find local places as well. It somehow enhances the travel experience.
Congrats on joining boardingarea! I like that you discuss both manufacturing and redemptions.
Thanks Craig!
I would love to hear about trips to South Asia
I am working on MS right now and as stated before posts about earning small amounts for the different loyalty programs-helps keep the accounts active. I also love tips people pick up on their travels, you never know what will come in handy on your next trip.
I love reading about family travel and how to find award space for a family of 4 in economy.
I love trip reports and how to earn/burn miles and points for travel to Europe.
Hotel deals.
I’m always a fan of learning more ‘off the beaten path’ information about destinations.
I would find a guide to using United miles on lesser known European carriers very useful
That is a great idea!
Wonderful to read the trip reports and great advice! Thanks!
I like to read trip reports about places anybody can aspire to visit.
I’d love to talk about MSing. BTW: Congrats on your BA status.
Thanks Sean!
I love reading about travel.
I enjoy trip reports!
I’d love to read about strategies for avoiding fuel surcharges when returning from Europe.
Congrats on joining boardingarea! I like reading about redemptions..I like to see where people have gone on miles and points
Thanks. I love hearing about other people’s redemptions as well.
Trip reports are the most helpful.
I like to read about travel savings and traveling with kids.
Congratulations!!!
I stumbled upon your blog just a few days ago and signed up for your newsletter right away.
Enjoying all of the topics esp. for a newbie like me.
Thanks for sharing.
I’m glad to hear you are enjoying the site. Thanks Jocelyn!
I enjoy reading about your frugal travel. I have the best memories taking pictures in front of land marks doing silly poses which cost nothing at all. Keep up the good work!
Love reading the hotel reviews. I wonder if a section could be added to your blog regarding planning group travel?,!
I will look into it. Thanks Bob!
I enjoy crazy trip reports.
The crazier the better!
I like to read about places I have already been and places I haven’t for inspiration.
So basically you are like me? You like to hear about everywhere! I also find inspiration in travel related stories.
I like reading about the best strategies to redeem points.
Redemption strategies are just as important as earning strategies. Thanks Lindsay!
I like reading about the road less traveled, those small villages or Mom & Pop places that make you feel like a local.
I do to. Those types of posts always put my imagination into overdrive and make me want to hit the road!
Hmmm US only?
Not a nice welcoming to those of us who live elsewhere in the world who follow BordingArea. 🙁 *thumbs down*
I’m sorry Bethany. I had to do it this way for legal reasons, but I promise to try to provide more giveaways for people outside of the U.S.
I like to read about family travel…also am clueless about miles and points, so your beginners topic is pretty great!! 🙂
Thanks Amanda! I love to write about family travel. It is one of my true loves. As for miles & points, there is a lot to learn, but it is well worth it.
I enjoy posts about getting potential random bonus miles, either hotel or airline, since I don’t go the multiple credit card route. I don’t mind that it might be only a few at a time. They all add up for someone who doesn’t travel that much.
I totally agree. Every little bit counts. That is why I try to post bonuses as often as possible like the 50 Aadvantage mile game the other day. Thanks Sharon!
I love learning about “out-of-the-box” ways to use miles. For example, how to get to London using a combination of miles to avoid BA fuel surcharges.
Great idea. I love those posts as well. Thanks Matt.
I need tutoring in manufactured spend. I enjoy trip reports.
Thanks Michelle. I try to hit on both of those subjects!
I would like to hear more about the different ways to do manufactured spending without spending obscene amounts of time on it.
It is easy to dedicate a lot of time to manufactured spend. There are some techniques that take little time and I will definitely hit on them. Thanks for the idea.
Same here. I know how to earn points, but need pointers on how to most effectively use them.
Thanks Scott!
my favorite articles are about travel redemptions. earning points/miles is the easy part, optimizing redemptions are hard!
I totally agree. Optimizing redemptions is just as important and certainly more difficult. Thanks Jack!
I love reading trip reports! Good luck with the blog!
I love trip reports too. Thanks!
I enjoy reading travel posts/reviews as well as various ways to manufacture spend to help get on those trips.
Keep up the great work, thanks.
Thanks Josh!