Big thanks to anyone who voted for MileValue in the first annual Travel Summary Awards. We were the only double winners, taking home The Best New Blogger and The Best Travel Hacker categories.

With only four days until the one year anniversary of my first post, it's quite an honor to be recognized for the work I've put into the blog.

When I started this blog, I had no idea the amount or type of work it would be. I couldn't have anticipated the challenges, fun, or interesting people I'd meet.

Not all points are created equally. At MileValue, we take pride in assigning values to frequent flyer miles and analyzing their best uses. Scott worked up the Mile Value Leaderboard, and his math reveals the rational step-by-step method he used to arrive at his cent per mile valuation. He even created a Mile Value Calculator to help you with your own valuations if you want to take a crack.

In the coming months, we will assign a value to hotel points as well. The process is going to be a bit trickier.

I know there are some people who have wandered over since reading about the site in the New York Times.

From my experience, some of you will mistakenly conclude that traveling with miles is too difficult for you and will miss out on the way all of us fly for pennies around the world in First Class.

I spent $90 for a First Class Suite, bed, gourmet food, top-shelf alcohol, and access to an onboard shower. Thanks miles!

Don't be one of these people.

I've hosted two MileValue dinners in Los Angeles that were both a ton of fun and informative. I know I learned a lot at each one. Throw in some good, cheap food and a chance to meet other travelers or reconnect with people from the Chicago Seminars or an FTU and it's a recipe for a great Saturday night.

If you haven't been, MileValue dinners are very informal. We get a big table (or more than one at the last dinner with over 25 readers), and I try to move around and talk to everyone.

Today I was featured in a MarketWatch article. Here's the relevant section. See two posts below for a good day trip on Oahu. See right below for information on how I found those dirt cheap fares.

Hawaii

“I’m seeing incredible deals to Hawaii for the spring,” says travel writer Scott Grimmer of MileValue.com. The deals he’s talking about include round-trip airfare to Hawaii for about $400 from Los Angeles and $415 from New York (though these usually require flying on select weekdays).

I've been in New Zealand for two days now. The first two days in Auckland were pretty uneventful. I was just getting my bearings and planning the rest of the trip. Except for that one thing...

While in Auckland, I booked Jetstar flights from Auckland to Wellington and Wellington to Queenstown. Jetstar is a low-cost subsidiary of Qantas, a member of oneworld.

Jetstar flights that are also marketed by Qantas with a Qantas flight number can be purchased with American miles and Avios.

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.

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.