Last week I ran a contest to give away a Samsung Chromebook.

I won it at a conference last month, and no doubt it’s the latest greatest coolest technology but I’m a one device kind of guy so I prefer my Lenovo Ultrabook. Why not let my readers benefit?

The prize came to me from Gogo inflight internet, which I’m also a huge fan of. As Louic CK said, “you’re sitting in a chair in the sky” and it’s the most amazing technology.

So with thanks to Gogo, I asked readers to pick their favorite post from this blog and share it in the comments. That way other readers might discover some posts they hadn’t seen but that their peers recommend, and I would get valuable feedback on what readers value most.

I did learn some interesting things. Although I should flag upfront of course that the comments were highlighting what people liked and didn’t offer a countervailing opportunity to share what you don’t like. And given the responses, I suspect that the things readers love the most also happen to be posts that are hot buttons in the other direction for a different set of readers as well. You can’t have everything! (Where would you put it?)

The most common themes readers highlighted as among their favorite posts were:

• Credit card advice. I do cover credit cards more than I used to in years past. It’s still less than 10% of my posts, while credit cards represent more than half of all miles earned in the United States. They also provide the biggest bonuses and easiest mileage earning. So no doubt readers are interested. Indeed, readership of the blog more than doubled after I started writing on the topic more.
  
• First class trip reports. Some people say they don’t have an interest flying with a bed (and top champagne) in the sky. But many readers do — either to dream, to study up before their own trips, or to see what’s possible with their own points. It seems Cathay Pacific first class reports are the most popular.
  
• Hotel points redemptions for top resorts. People love reading about using points at places like the Conrad Koh Samui and Park Hyatt Maldives. Great ideas for redeeming your own points aspirationally. (And tons of readers tried to get rooms at the Conrad Koh Samui before Hilton devalued points earlier in the year.)
  
• Dining recommendations. These are most popular for major cities that most people are likely to visit. Residents of the given city I’m writing about may have their own partisan opinions, but people visiting a city seem to flag these posts as being especially helpful. Some popular ones were for Paris and New York. (Another popular one folks won’t visit — El Bulli — because it has since closed.
  
• Giveaway posts. Well, people do like free stuff. But I assume that people were saying they liked the post they were commenting on as a cop out, the easiest post they could paste a link to into the comments section. 🙂

Although my favorite sorts of comments were the ones like these, “This post allowed my wife and I to realize a dream trip on Singapore First…Thanks Gary !

I admit, just reading the comments in the post felt really great for me. So, to all of you who participated and shared posts you’ve enjoyed, and expressed thanks, I thank you. Because reader feedback has really been keeping me going for the past 11 years. Thank you.

And with that, I drew the winner of the contest. With the help of random.org, that winner was comment number 91.

Boon wrote,

The Milepoint Premium post. I’ved received many times the initial fee in dividends.

Congratulations, Boon! I’ll be sending you an email momentarily!

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