Delta Airlines has severed ties with both e-Miles and e-Rewards according to this thread and and this thread on FlyerTalk. As of the New Year, you are no longer be able to redeem currency accrued in either program for Delta SkyMiles.

For those unfamiliar, both e-Miles and e-Rewards are websites that reward visitors with miles or fun money for filling out surveys in a wide range of categories.

This is a multi-part trip report that started here.

After being escorted to our seat from our stellar private car ride, we met two pursers who were extremely friendly and professional. They both offered to show us to our closets and because the flight was 4/8 full today, they insisted that we use the window seats to watch the takeoff and the middle seats to sleep in.

After sitting down in a window seat, the purser came by and handed me my Ginger Ale and Macadamia Nuts. Both were delicious as usual.

Happy New Year to everyone except a few Hawaiians, who are almost there. I'm 35,000 feet up in a Global First bed en route from LAX to Sydney then onto Auckland for the start of three weeks in Australia and New Zealand.

This trip is the culmination of 16 months of planning. In late 2011, I got in on the 150,000 American Airlines miles bonanza for opening up a Citi AA Visa and Citi AA AMEX. My brother has been talking for years about going to the Australian Open, even running a blog annually during the fortnight.

Happy New Year to everyone except a few Hawaiians, who are almost there. I'm 35,000 feet up in a Global First bed en route from LAX to Sydney then onto Auckland for the start of three weeks in Australia and New Zealand.

This trip is the culmination of 16 months of planning. In late 2011, I got in on the 150,000 American Airlines miles bonanza for opening up a Citi AA Visa and Citi AA AMEX. My brother has been talking for years about going to the Australian Open, even running a blog annually during the fortnight.

In a few minutes, i'll be on a boat in the middle of the Bosphorus River to celebrate New Years. If many of you don't know, the Bosphorus is the river that separates connects Asia & Europe! Turkey puts on an amazing Fireworks display on the Bosphorus bridge and I cant wait to see it!

I've taken a few moments to reflect on what i've been able to do this year and thought i'd share.

In January, I celebrated New Years on the Singapore Flyer. It was an amazing experience that i'll never forget.

2012 was an incredible year for many reasons: I finally got to visit Kauai, one of the destinations that I most wanted to visit. Kauai didn't disappoint at all. Though my flights were just standard domestic first class on US Airways, I got to stay at the St. Regis Princeville for four nights. The hotel blew me away and probably spoiled me for life. It was one of the most relaxing place on Earth.

I'll be saying goodbye to 2012 35,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean in United Global First. (You can join me. Seats in business (4+) and first (1) opened up on the flight today for the first time since February.)

It has been quite an eventful year that saw the founding of this blog, and trips purchased to all six inhabited continents, though I bailed on South America.

This is my third post of many which reflect my ongoing winter trip! The trip report started here and links to all the posts.

I was hoping that when we landed, we wouldn't be assigned a gate. The reason behind this was that if you arrive at a non-gate position, you are entitled to a private car transfer to the arrivals hall.

When we landed, I noticed that we turned away from the terminal and parked at a non-gate position.

Want to book a dream summer vacation to Europe? The time is now. Award space is still very good on a number of great routes on great products and will deteriorate in the coming months.

Here's how I would go about booking my dream award. Step one is the miles--more on getting those at the end of the post.

American Airlines business class used to stink.