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Just Because You Can Book A Ticket Through An Online Travel Agency……

January 4, 2017By Edward Pizzarello8 Comments

Sites like Expedia and Orbitz make it so easy to search for travel, don’t they? But, they’re not a replacement for a real travel agent. Nor are they a replacement for common sense. A recent situation yields some tips for how to protect yourself from issues booking with an online travel agency. 

Are You “Travel Compatible” With Your Significant Other?

February 10, 2016By Edward Pizzarello8 Comments

Are you and your significant other “travel buddies” or “travel enemies”? My wife and I love the same wine when we travel, but there are a bunch of differences that don’t always make the light of day.

Hyatt Launches Their First Promotion of 2019 (And Includes Award Stays)!

World of Hyatt launches their first promotion of 2019 where members can earn up to 1,500 bonus points per night for stays at Hyatt hotels.

The Biggest Point Redemption I’ve Ever Seen

Over 3 million points. I can’t recall any redemption quite that big. There was the 1 million points to throw out the first pitch in Game 7 of the World Series. That seems kinda cheap compared to this.

That Day My Daughter Completely Embarrassed My Wife On Southwest Airlines

Kids bring an incredible amount of joy to our lives. I never saw it coming, and I couldn’t be happier showing my kids the world. Every once in a while, we see life through their eyes and it can be equal parts embarrassing and hilarious. That’s this story.

20 Years Later, Alanis Morissette Adds Southwest Airlines to the “Ironic” Lexicon

James Corden is a funny guy. Alanis Morissette makes it better with a riff on Southwest Airlines.

The Great Marriott Debate And Losing All Your Miles

One respected blogger is doubling down on Marriott in 2019. Is that the right decision for you? And, what happens when you login to your mileage account to find out your miles are gone?

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 […]

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. […]