I had a really lucky time at YAPC::NA 2012. I bought five raffle tickets right after I arrived at the conference center, and I won a coupon to the Pragmatic Bookshelf and Linode (that link contains my referral code).
To be honest, the Pragmatic Bookshelf coupon was not worth the face value (a single ebook up to $50). But, as usual, Linode came through.
I realized about a month after the conference that I still had not done anything with the coupon. I really did not need another Linode at that point, but I also did not want to potentially miss out on a nice credit. So, I contacted the company via their excellent customer support system, and, lo and behold, my account was credited without me having to add another Linode.
This makes it possible for me to get a discount on my current service, without having to set up another Linode. Or, add something else to my account down the road when I have a chance to think about that. Regardless of what I do, the credit to my account means that the coupon was actually worth the face value.
That is a rare thing in the world of coupons.
And, it says tons about the kind of company you’re dealing with.
These are people who mean what they say, and say what they mean. Not to mention the fact that they frequently add free upgrades to even the most basic accounts, or give you free credit every chance they get ;-)
It will take me some time to figure out how to best use the extra cash. After all, it took me more than a year to figure out what to do with the storage upgrade they gave us the last time (moved /var/log to a dedicated partition), but with all the features at my disposal, I am sure I’ll be able to put it to good use.
If you’re looking for a no fuss virtual server where you are in control, I recommend Linode with no reservations whatsoever (and, if you want to use a link without my referral code, you can visit Linode.com using this one).
Update 2013/04/16: My praise is on hold for now, see Linode disappoints for more information.
Update 2013/05/28: I decided to stay with Linode after some consideration.