Ben Nickel-D’Andrea

Now Boarding: Ben Nickel-D’Andrea, No Mas Coach

October 27, 2018By Edward Pizzarello0 Comments

This week I caught up with Ben Nickel-D’Andrea on the NowBoarding Podcast. Each week, the NowBoarding Podcast sits down with a Boarding Area blogger for 30 minutes to dig deeper into their world. We talk about their travel preferences, favorite (and sometimes least favorite) travel companies and mix in a bit of humor about the crazy world of miles and points that we call home. Ben is the co-author of the No Mas Coach blog. We had his husband on the podcast a few weeks ago. In Episode number 17 we learn […]

Travelers To The US Will Be Required To Quarantine Upon Arrival

It was just last week that we learned a negative COVID-19 test result would be required for all passengers entering the US. This is applicable to US citizens and visitors alike, with airline crews one of the only groups largely exempted from the rule. Now, it appears that the United States will institute a requirement to quarantine upon arrival as well. There aren’t a ton of details on what the quarantine requirement will look like just yet. For better or worse, I expect it won’t be nearly as restrictive as […]

CONFIRMED: US Will Require Negative COVID-19 Test For Entry From International Flights

There’s a report on most of the major news sites right now indicating that The NY Times is reporting the US will require a negative COVID-19 test for all passengers entering the United States via plane from abroad. This would be a remarkable step. But it also may be a logical evolution of COVID-19 policy as it relates to travel. While we don’t have exact details, reports seem to indicate that this could go into place January 26, 2021. Honestly, if this is needed to stop the spread of the more […]

I Was In An Airport For The First Time In 9 Months This Week. It Was Odd.

It won’t be too much longer before I’ll be able to say it’s been an odd year of not boarding airplanes. As it stands today, that seems to be the earliest I could see myself getting on an airplane. However, I was in an airport yesterday, and it was definitely an odd experience. I wasn’t expecting to be, but I had to pick up a family member from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport yesterday. It wasn’t my wife or kids, so I wore a mask in the car and we […]

No Numbers: My 2020 Year In Review

This is about the time each year where I’d summarize how many miles I flew and how many nights I had at various hotel chains. Obviously, those numbers were way down this year. As I looked at friends summarize what their year in travel looked, I was a little surprised that I really had no motivation to look at the numbers. Initially, I thought that meant I wouldn’t bother with a year in review. But 2020 taught me that we can’t take things for granted. So, without numbers, I thought […]

Breaking Down The New Wyndham Rewards Earner Credit Cards

There’s a lot of discussion about credit cards in the travel blog space. Credit cards are how many (if not most) people earn miles and points to be able to take that dream trip. And, there are plenty of folks who sign-up for lots of credit cards for the welcome bonus without much regard to whether they’re going to keep the credit card long-term. I get it, but I don’t generally sign-up for a new credit card unless I see some sort of a long-term place in my wallet. That’s […]

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.

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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. […]

Edward Pizzarello - January 21, 2021:
Greg, fair point. Without reliable contact tracing, it's hard to say [...]

Edward Pizzarello - January 21, 2021:
Stephanie, it's a confusing time for travel. Some folks are really [...]

Greg - January 21, 2021:
Stay because it's warm and pleasant and you can have space to [...]

Stephanie Woods - January 21, 2021:
I don't see how they will be able to do this. I [...]

Are You on Clubhouse? We're Chatting About Earning Miles While Not Flying - January 14, 2021:
[…] miles while we’re not on the road. He and I used [...]