Congratulations on the 2nd placement in AccuQuilt's Barn Quilt Design contest! What an honor and how neat to have gift certificate to spend. Yes, I have the AccuQuilt Go cutter and have used it constantly since receiving it as a Christmas present. While the cutters are expensive, I am gradually adding to my set as sales come and go. Watch their Daily Deal which can be a 75% reduction in price. Presently, I have the following cutters: 2-1/2 strip, the 2-3-4 inch hearts, 3-1/2 X 6-1/2 rectangle, and some smaller squares and 1/2Sq Triangles.
I use the strip one the most as it is so convenient for taking to mat and manually rotary cutting a 2-1/2 squares.
May I note that when you purchase one that you do not go overboard in loading it down with several layers of fabric. I generally cut only three levels of fabric at a time. Also, if one folds a length to lay over the strip cutter so as to cut one continuous piece, it has helped me to iron every thing first--wait a tad to cool--and then continue to the Go cutter.
As for the matts which cover the blades, someone said the white ones wear much longer. I can see that from what little I have used the grey one compared to the white one. They do have to be replaced from time to time depending upon how much you use them.
Good luck and happy purchasing.