In the Trenches: Benefits – Intuit Small Business Blog
The menu of benefits to be provided to employees is surprisingly large. They aren’t all paid, but it’s still a bit of a minefield.

I’ve received a lot of expressions of support from readers over the years wishing that they could do more to help support Cranky financially. Until today, the main way you could help was by using Cranky Concierge, and that’s not changing. But there are many of you who don’t need or want our service. So what else can you do?

Starting today, I’m getting in on the credit card game. A lot of our clients ask us about ways to get more miles to use for trips, and one of the best ways is by signing up for credit cards. You’ve probably seen a million other blogs talking about different credit card deals, and there’s a good reason. Credit cards pay pretty solid referral fees.

You’re not going to see me writing about credit cards and pushing deals. That’s not what The Cranky Flier is about, and I have no interest in changing that. But I will be maintaining a page on the site (you can see the link in the menu bar up top) that will have the latest credit card deals. Maybe, on occasion, if there’s something truly amazing, I’ll post on a Wednesday (as I’m doing today) so that it doesn’t interfere with the regular posts. But don’t expect to see that often.

So, if you’re in the market for a new credit card or you’re just looking to get some miles, check the page out and see what’s there. If you have any questions, email me at cf@crankyflier.com and I’m happy to answer them. Here’s a list of the cards that I have on the page today:

This became a big discussion on Twitter, so I thought I’d bring it here. In a couple months, my wife and I are taking the little guy on his maiden voyage, and we had the chance to upgrade using miles on a cross country trip. Would you do it with a newborn or not? It was a mixed bag on Twitter.

(We actually did do it, but of course, we’ll be incredibly conscientious about any noise.)

The year is just about done for, so it’s time to look at how much flying we all did. My two trips across the pond helped to offset the lack of flying toward the end of the year. What did your year look like?

Miles: 38,310 (34,202 last year)
Segments: 26 (26)
New Aircraft: Bombardier Q400
New Airlines: Allegiant, Spirit
New Airports: Kelowna (BC), London/City, Shannon
Most Common Aircraft: A320 (7 flights)
Most Common Airline: US Airways/JetBlue (5 segments each)
Most Common Airport: Long Beach (6 dep/3 arr)
Most Common Non-Directional Route: Long Beach – Phoenix (3)

Pack patience for air travel amateurs – CNN Out of the Office
’tis the season for amateur travelers to come out of the woodwork. Here are some thoughts on how business travelers can navigate it.

In the Trenches: Recognizing Our Own Recognition – Intuit Small Business Blog
Just talking a little bit more about how to deal with getting recognized as a Top Travel Specialist by Conde Nast.

Virgin America dogged by reservations glitches – USA Today Today in the Sky
Ben got into some more detail about the Virgin America reservation system problems and he cited my post on the subject.

Tech tames travel’s travails – The Detroit News
A brief mention at the end about Cranky Concierge. Though we don’t actually have an app.

Alaska Airlines Menu Tasting Was Eye-Opening – Conde Nast Daily Traveler
A different look at my visit to the Alaska Air kitchens this week.