My top 10 most popular (and one least popular) posts of 2015

In the spirit of shamelessly ripping off Frequent Miler, I thought it would be interesting to see what my most popular new posts in 2015 were. Since I don't use Google Analytics for, well, anything, it took me a little while to figure out how to assemble this list. In other words, accuracy not guaranteed, but I found it interesting and thought my readers might as well.

Without further ado, here are my 10 most popular posts written in 2015, ranked by total unique pageviews. I've placed an asterisk(*) next to the techniques that are still working or relevant today.

• #10: [updated] Automate Twitter American Express offers the (really) easy way, 2,257 unique pageviews
• *#9: Chase Sapphire Preferred is terrible, get Slate instead, 2,379 unique pageviews
• *#8: Taking a manufactured spend inventory, 2,697 unique pageviews
• #7: Should all manufactured spend go through American Express gift cards?, 3,041 unique pageviews
• *#6: Paying credit card bills with money orders, 3,541 unique pageviews
• #5: Use Amazon Allowance to meet monthly transaction requirements, 3,924 unique pageviews
• *#4: New Staples Visa gift cards got you down? Try these two weird old tricks, 4,452 unique pageviews
• #3: Pro tip: Did Uber turn off "Gifts" in your account? Ask them to turn it back on!, 4,927 unique pageviews
• *#2: Reminder: you can still sign up for Nationwide Visa Buxx cards, 5,157 unique pageviews.
• *#1: Liquidating deeply-discounted $200 Vanilla Visa gift cards, 5,185 unique pageviews.

Any lessons here?

I basically write whatever I feel like writing about, so it's pretty much luck of the draw when that coincides with what readers want to read about. With that in mind, are there any lessons to be learned from this list?

• Lots of people want to read actionable tips for upping their travel hacking game. My post on the Chase Sapphire Preferred is the only popular post that was more analytical than action-oriented. None of my posts on imputed redemption values or other methods of analyzing miles and points redemptions made the cut.
• No one wants to read about my award redemptions. My most popular "Anatomy of an Award Trip" post in 2015 got just 363 unique pageviews.
• The game is always changing. Of my top ten posts of 2015, only 6 are still actionable or relevant: it's become much more difficult to automate American Express offers over Twitter; American Express gift cards are no longer a lucrative method of manufacturing spend; Amazon Allowances now have a minimum of $5, making them less useful for meeting transaction requirements; and Uber no longer allows anyone to purchase gift credit.

What was my least popular post of 2015?

Just for fun, I thought I'd scroll down to find my blog post with the fewest unique pageviews. For whatever reason, that post was:

• #181: Do this now: register for Hyatt's Stay More Play More promotion, 102 unique pageviews.

In fact, 5 of the 10 least-viewed posts were "Do this now" posts about registering for various promotions.

Expect this to have absolutely no effect on the content of my blog in 2016. Old dogs, new tricks, etc.