We’ve just rolled out some major changes here at OMAAT, and I’m very excited about them. So that I don’t bury the lede, let me just say that I think these changes are universally positive, and I hope that people enjoy them half as much as we’ve enjoyed putting this together. Nothing is changing for the worse, and (hopefully) a lot is changing for the better.
I’ll get into more details below, but there are many aspects to this, with one common theme — community. We’re talking about everything from a new system whereby the most engaged users get fewer (or no) ads, the ability for members to submit their own stories that will appear on the front page of OMAAT, a new community forum, elite status with a gamification element (including prizes), and more.
Why we’re making changes to One Mile at a Time
I’ve written in the past about the state of miles & points blogging. The internet has changed massively over time, particularly in recent years, given the increased use of AI, the ways search engines have evolved, the increasing shift to short form video, etc.
I think just about anyone who makes a living publishing things online will tell you that the landscape has shifted drastically. That’s why we’ve also increasingly seen many sites update how they monetize things, with things like subscriptions and paywalls being increasingly common.
There’s no denying that using the internet has just become increasingly less pleasant in terms of ads, constantly being asked to sign up for things, etc. Nobody wants it to be that way, but it has kind of become a necessary evil.
That being said, we’re trying to take a different approach, with a different philosophy — can we make OMAAT more interesting, fun, and compelling than ever before? That’s the genuine intent with these changes, because I tend to think what sets OMAAT apart from the more “corporate” sites is that there’s a bit more of a sense of community here, since we have an actual readership, and don’t exist solely to get search engine traffic. I’d also like to think there’s a bit more “personality” here, and things can get spirited. So let me explain what’s going on…
What we’re changing at One Mile at a Time
If you scroll down the front page of OMAAT, you should notice some changes, which have all gone live within the past 24 hours. Before I talk about what’s changing, let me state what isn’t changing — well, basically everything you’re currently used to, including the content on the front page.
The below initiatives are all about building community, along with the new OMAAT video series, which will be launching in the coming weeks. Let’s go over the changes, in no particular order. I should mention that you can find the pages for most of these changes in the new “Community” navigation at the top of the site.
OMAAT Community Rewards
Registered users at OMAAT have been able to earn “elite status” through their posting activity for a long time, though there weren’t really any perks associated with that. It was just intended to be a cute play on the concept of how we’re generally elite status obsessed.
There are now updates to this, with the new OMAAT Community Rewards concept:
- There are three elite tiers — Gold, Platinum, and Diamond — and the higher your elite status, the fewer ads you’ll see, with Diamond members getting virtually no ads
- You can earn elite status through community engagement, with activities earning anywhere from 20 to 2,500 points each
- There’s now a “leaderboard,” with weekly and monthly stats, showing those who have earned the most points through being helpful, getting the most likes, having the hottest takes (I wonder who is gonna win that one!), and being the most prolific; if you check your own profile page, you can also see your year to date points and lifetime points
- With these updates, elite status is earned on an annual basis, but it’s intentionally supposed to not be too hard to earn; status is earned based on the calendar year, is valid through the end of February of the following year, and existing elites get a head start toward status for the following year
- Not only will there be direct prizes for certain activities (outlined on this page), but we’re also planning some really fun rewards for those who are the most engaged long term
If you haven’t yet registered for a free OMAAT account, please consider doing so, since you might as well be rewarded for the activity you engage in anyway.
OMAAT Community Stories
Those in the OMAAT community have a lot of their own stories to share, and I get a countless number of messages from people asking if we accept guest posts, if I can cover their travel story, etc. While I do this as much as I can, the ones that make it onto the site aren’t even the tip of the iceberg, because there are only so many hours in the day.
So I figured it would be fun to democratize this a bit, which is why we’re introducing the concept of OMAAT Community Stories:
- This gives registered members the ability to share their own stories in the form of blog posts, and they’ll appear on the front page of the blog, in a similar grid to the stories I write
- The intent here is to be flexible about what people want to cover — you can share a travel experience (whether positive or negative) and even ask for feedback, you can write an op-ed about your choice of airline or hotel topics, you can share a great redemption deal, etc.
- We’re giving people a lot of latitude here to express themselves how they’d like, though we ask that the posts be at least 500 words (because otherwise the content is probably better for the forums, which I’ll talk about below); you can also include up to five pictures, and then we’ll figure out where to insert them in the post
- There will be a manual review process for these (for obvious reasons, to make sure spam doesn’t publish), though the goal is to have content published within 24 hours; posts don’t have to be perfect, but we ask that at least some effort goes into them, so write them as if they’re going to be widely read (because hopefully they will be!)
- Members can then engage on these posts in the same way they’d engage on the posts that I publish
- For submitting a story and having it approved, you’ll receive 2,500 bonus points toward OMAAT status, which already gets you Gold status and unlocks reduced ads; so by contributing to the community, you’ll have a better experience immediately
- For the month of August, the most read Community Stories post will get a $500 travel gift card (your choice of airline or hotel), and we’ll continue to have prizes going forward; there’s a big incentive to submit a story early, since it leaves more time for people to read it
You can submit your OMAAT Community Stories posts here, and then when you scroll down on the page, you should start to see them once they’re live. I’d love for people to sound off, so don’t be shy, and go for it!
Let me say that while I don’t want to make this section just about grievances with airlines, hotels, etc., that is a perfectly acceptable use of this, in terms of sharing stories. I say that because those are the most common types of reader emails I receive, so this is a great way to get some eyeballs to whatever went wrong with your travel situation. And I’ll of course also gladly chime in on whatever stories people post.
OMAAT Community Help
On the home page of the site you’ll now see a link to the OMAAT Community Help section. The idea is that if you have a question about a topic that’s related to miles, points, travel, etc., that’s the place to ask. I will be engaging there as much as I can, and my hope is that others will help out as well.
After submitting stories, answering questions in the Community Help section is the next thing that earns the most points toward status, with no limits (so it gets you to a reduced or no ad experience as quickly as possible).
OMAAT Daily Discussion
On the home page of the site you’ll also now see a link to the OMAAT Daily Discussion thread. Every single day a thread will go live where those in the community can chime in with… well, whatever they’d like, basically.
Whether you want to point out a story that should be covered, have general feedback, want to talk about how your day is going, found a great award availability option, are annoyed by the quality of lounge cheese, etc., that’s the place to do it.
OMAAT “Yowzers!” button
This is minor compared to the other updates, but I’d like to talk about one other thing we added. When people comment, we’ve long had the “Helpful” button, so that members can show appreciation or approval for the comments of others.
The intent was to keep it positive, which is why we avoided something like a “dislike” button. However, we decided to make this all a bit more fun, so we’ve introduced a second button that can be clicked, which is “Yowzers!” Consider this to be a way to express surprise or shock, so that can be used to recognize hot takes, wild conclusions, etc.
For the month of August, there’s even a prize of a $100 airline or hotel gift card for the hottest take in a comment, decided based on getting the most exclamation points.
There’s one more point I’d like to emphasize — we’re really stepping up moderation of comments effective immediately. It’s important to me that this is a friendly community where people can disagree without getting personal, and where we don’t have people slinging unnecessary insults at groups or people.
We have published commenting rules and guidelines, and we now have a system in place whereby we’re upping enforcement. If you see a comment you take an issue with, please click the “Report” button next to a post. If a post does get removed for violating community guidelines, we also reserve the right to remove status points from an account. After all, showing basic courtesy toward others shouldn’t be complicated.
Again, I’m all for people disagreeing (with me or with others), but I just ask that we remain respectful. The people who have pointed out the issues with moderation on this site are correct, and I appreciate their desire for a friendlier community. That starts now. Please just be patient in terms of timing, since we’re not online 24/7, but we will check reports multiple times per day, and are making this a priority.
Bottom line
We’ve just rolled out the most substantial changes to OMAAT in years. The core of things will remain completely unchanged, but the idea is to add lots of fun community elements, with a gamification element.
Engaging in the community can earn OMAAT elite status, and the higher your status, the fewer ads you get, with Diamond members getting virtually no ads. On top of that, members can upload their own stories, ask questions in the Q&A section, and participate in the daily discussion.
I’ve been running this site for 18+ years, and it’s my hobby and passion above all else. So I think it’s time to lean more into what I think is best about this site, which is the community of readers, who have lots of great things to say. My hope is that these changes can amplify that.
Rather than going the direction of trying to put stuff behind a paywall or make countless other negative changes, I’m excited about this approach, as it’s all about showing appreciation for readers, and giving them more of a voice.
So if you’re not yet an OMAAT member, consider registering for free, so you can start earning points and elite status. Then consider submitting a story, asking or answering a question in the Q&A section, or participating in the daily discussions.
Please let me know what questions y’all have, and of course any feedback is welcome, whether positive or negative. Thanks for being part of the OMAAT community! I’m also very excited to see the first Community Stories submissions!