5X Points

American Express Platinum Card Gets An Overhaul

March 2, 2017By Edward Pizzarello12 Comments

American Express is revamping their Platinum card. Their changes are making me take notice of a card I don’t currently carry in my wallet.

My Favorite Anker Travel Batteries And Power Gear On Sale Today At Amazon

A handful of my favorite Anker items on sale today.

Delta Rolls Out Basic Economy Award Tickets. Is It The Right Business Decision?

How much of a discount would you want on your next award flight in exchange for not being able to make any changes or to select a seat? Delta is making a bet they know how much.

Take An Uber, Get A Free BOGO Coupon From Starbucks!

Now through December 9th, if you take an Uber ride you’ll receive a buy one get one free drink coupon redeemable at Starbucks. It’s part of Uber’s “Week of Cheers”. And, drivers can also earn Starbucks gift cards if they earn enough tips from drivers. Uber’s blog has all the details: The holidays can be a hectic time of year. Between gift shopping, home decorating, and merry making, we sometimes need a reason to just be there for friends and loved ones. That’s why this holiday season, Uber and Starbucks® […]

Want To Sleep Over At The Super Bowl? In The Stadium? Now You Can!

Want to sleep in a hotel suite that will only be occupied for one night? Just for the Super Bowl, with you as the only occupant. That sounds pretty cool to me.

Now Boarding: Zachery Abel, Monkey Miles

This episode of the NowBoarding podcast features Zachary Abel, author of Monkey Miles, an actor who brings a stuffed animal wherever he goes. I might make fun of him a bit for it, but I love it. And, it’s a cute monkey. Hope you enjoy the show!

I Flew Frontier, Saved $400 And Didn’t Die. My Frontier Airlines Review

Those low-cost carriers always have very appetizing fare sales. Who wouldn’t want to pay $20 to fly somewhere? But, what does $20 really buy you? I found out exactly what Frontier does (and doesn’t) offer customers on my first flight with them recently.

A Summary Of United Airlines Global Services Benefits

As travel has gotten more stressful the benefits of elite status are even more valuable. In some cases, what used to be free for everyone is now only free for those customers that fly most frequently. I value my American Airlines Executive Platinum status more highly than any status I’ve earned, including 1K service with United Airlines. However, Global Services is another matter. For those not aware, Global Services is an invitation-only status level that United bestows on their best customers. What defines a best customer? Well, United doesn’t list […]

Update: American Airlines Variable Choice Plus Pricing A Feature, Not A Bug

I have to admit, I was pretty pleased with the original announcement that American Airlines was creating bundled pricing that included change fees at a lower apparent cost. Things got a little better when American also announced they were expanding the timeframe you could request a same day change to your flight. And, then things started to get a bit screwy. It started with just one flight I couldn’t get to price right with Choice Plus as an add-on. But, then I did a bit more digging and found out […]

Is Foursquare Dead?

Venture Beat doesn’t think so, and I’m not 100% sure they’re wrong. But, before I discuss the article, a little background on why someone allergic to social media like me became a Foursquare nut. A few years ago, a company called TopGuest came up with this concept where you could earn airline miles and hotel points for checking in at various places on Foursquare. I can’t say I thought it was a terribly good business model, but they convinced a bunch of hotel chains to hand out miles for this. […]

How To Use New Metro Silver Line To Get Between Dulles and Reagan National Airports

People talk about how bad the traffic is in places like Los Angeles with plenty of adjectives. And, it is quite bad. But, the traffic in DC is what I refer to as “stealthy bad”. It doesn’t get the same press that LA traffic does, but a trip that normally takes an hour can easily turn into a 3-hour ordeal. With visiting dignitaries, protests and construction as variables, weather can also wreak havoc on a system that consistently backs up during rush hour. For those of us that live in […]