To celebrate a year of podcasting at the Saverocity Observation Deck, we decided to close out 2015 with a bit of fun. Joe Cortez, Trevor, and I convened for over 90 minutes to deliberate the first ever annual Saverocity Observation Deck end of year awards.
If you’ve been listening, you probably know that we don’t take ourselves too seriously, and while we took our award deliberations seriously, the award categories were not necessarily serious in and of themselves. Or whatever.
Anyway, Trevor and I thought it’d be fun to just let you all the nominees before we release the podcast, so here you go. I’ll take the first three categories while Trevor will follow up with the final two over at Tagging Miles. Vote in the polls for your favorites and then stay tuned for the awards podcast which will go live before the end of 2015!
Category 1 – Most Impactful Airline Seat Release/Announcement
Etihad Apartments and Residence
Obviously a big to do was made about this new product this year. Heck, The Points Guy hit the freaking front page of Reddit because of it, which I’m sure is going to be great for the game. On top of the Residence, the first class Apartments themselves are a pretty big deal (Trevor seemed to like them okay), and Etihad took a slight step ahead of Emirates in the escalating first class arms race.
10 abreast 77W/11 abreast A380 in economy
As airlines continue to work on increasing their bottom line, news came out this year that airlines would begin cramming more and more seats into economy. Qatar Airways announced they would be going 10 across in some 77Ws (other airlines have already done this) while Airbus itself said that they could fit 11 across in A380s by 2017. So while first class might be getting fancier for the 1% (plus travel hackers!), the back of the bus is starting to look really crowded.
The increase in premium economy offerings
Singapore, American, and Lufthansa all announced new premium economy seating this year. So while economy is getting super crowded, we wondered whether airlines are creating this “middle class” to up their profits. Well, obviously it’s to up their profits, but we debated whether this was going to have a huge impact on the market.
Category 2 – PF Digest’s Post of the Year
Chase Sapphire Preferred and a Cat
I wanted to put the full title name in the heading, but it’s too long. But for the record, PF Digest’s article “We taped a Chase Sapphire Preferred to a string and dangled it in front of a cat. You won’t believe what happens next.” was part of his very popular Chase Sapphire Preferred week. Out of all the brilliant posts PF Digest had this year, this might have been one of the best.
Credit Cards that don’t exist (but should)
Is this post satire? Is it not? With PF Digest, you never know, and therein lies the genius. In Credit Cards that don’t exist (but should), PF Digest takes a look at…credit cards that don’t exist (but should). Also, I would seriously get a McDonald’s card.
Password Instructions
If you are having trouble thinking of a robust password for all your credit card accounts, take a look at Password Instructions. PF Digest once again takes his scalpel-like satire next level with a list of instructions guaranteed to help you come up with an un-hackable password. Password.
Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Hello Kitty Card
In “Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. the Hello Kitty Visa Platinum Reward Card: Which is better?“, PF Digest once again asks the tough questions. We all know that credit card applications are at a premium, so make sure you read this before you decide which of these two cards to apply for. I know which one my 3 year old daughter chose!
Want to Get Rich Quick?: Start a Blog!
Finally, in a post near and dear to my heart, PF Digest kills the best deal going: making tons of money by turning into a blogger. In “Want to Get Rich Quick?: Start a Blog!“, he lays out everything you need to become truly successful. I know Miles Per Day read that post, because he was hobnobbing with none other than Finn and Rey on one of his most recent flights. I’m seriously jealous about that one.
Category 3 – Most overhyped/overexposed/overwritten about “news” in the blogosphere
First Friday
Did you know that every first Friday in 2015 you could earn 3X points if you used your Chase Sapphire Preferred? I certainly didn’t but it’s a good thing the blogosphere was there to help me out. They were also super helpful in assisting when you just weren’t sure which Friday was the first Friday. Thanks everyone!
Citibank 50K AA Cards
I was under the impression that you could get a 50K bonus on the AA cards for pretty much the entire year. However, according to the blogosphere, the bonus was only available in very specific time frames. I’m not totally sure what the disconnect was! I guess that’s one of those mysteries that will never be solved…
The Life and Death of Redbird
Redbird? Redbird. Redbird redbird redbird? Redbird! Cardinal. I mean, redbird.
Club Carlson Card Devaluation
Why is it when something devalues it gets written about ad nauseum? Granted, Club Carlson’s free night was a great deal, but once it died, there wasn’t much to write about anymore. Also, I suddenly started hearing a lot less about the Club Carlson credit card, except for from one or two notable sources. Curious.
Every buy miles post ever
Is there a time and place for some people to buy miles? Yes. Does that time and place occur often enough to justify what feels like 10 “buy miles” posts on average per week across the blogosphere. H to the no. For a less salty take, see Free-quent Flyer’s post on buying miles yesterday.
Final Thoughts
We had a lot of fun recording this podcast, hope you all enjoy it as well. It’ll be up soon! In the meanwhile, vote on your award winners and let us know what nominees we missed!