I have been a long time lurker on this site and only this summer took the plunge to get in on the 75k AA deals and the 70k Marriott for which so far are resulting in a pretty cheap family cruise for 4 next spring (not free, but our out of pocket costs are much better than my brother and his family who are paying for everything ).

I must confess, though, that I am envious on the missed opportunities of the multiple 100k deals earlier in the year and only going to the coin laundry one time before it got shut down. I am eagerly researching and waiting for the next big thing to fund the tons of plans I have now for 2012 and beyond.

Thanks FT for the inspiration and community! Maybe some day I'll be one of those grizzled veterans who know and help the rest of us newbies ^