Families

Why The Current Southwest Airlines Credit Card Offer Is The Best One For Families

January 24, 2019By Edward Pizzarello12 Comments

Southwest really wanted to make a splash, and they sure did. I’ve got a blog post breaking down why this is a great offer for families as well as a podcast episode where Jen (our resident Southwest expert) and I dig in to it including how to keep the companion pass for 2020.

Good For Everyone Or Not? United Bringing Back Early Boarding For Families With Young Children

February 2, 2016By Edward Pizzarello16 Comments

United Airlines is bringing back early boarding for families with very young children. Do you think that’s a good idea or a bad one?

United Adds New Tax To Award Tickets, Even For Top Elite Members

United Airlines appears to be charging more miles for you to book an award flight 30 days or less prior to departure. This appears to be for all travelers, even top-tier 1K members who used to be exempt from a cash fee for close-in bookings.

Perfect Last-Minute Booking And Two Credit Cards To Think About

We have your weekly travel news in 15 minutes or less! This week, Shawn Coomer is back in the co-pilot seat with host Ed Pizza. Shawn is the host of the Miles to Memories podcast. Up this week is the perfect last-minute flight booking, a hotel room that earns you lifetime status with just one weeklong stay and some crazy statistics about Marriott’s new loyalty program. We also discuss the new Norwegian Air credit card and the biggest sign-up bonus ever for the United Explorer Card. Links: Finally!! How […]

The Marriott Statistic I Just Can’t Wrap My Arms Around

There’s a statistic in Marriott’s quarterly earnings that I just can’t believe.

Monthly Airplane Wi-Fi Reliability Report Card: September 2019

September is the 9th month I’ve been tracking my wi-fi reliability across all flights and airlines I’ve flown. United continues to lead the pack as the worst among them.

Making The Connection: The Argument For Being There

I sat my daughter down with her mother recently to show both of them a video. I told my daughter, “You might be bored for part of this, but give me 13 minutes.” As a parent of a teenager and one younger child, patience is something that can be in short supply. But, she’s generally a good kid. So, she stuck out the 13 minutes. I first met Maya Leibman 6 or 7 years ago at an industry event. I had been assigned to make sure that she got from […]

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. […]

Recap: Goldman Sachs Probe, Wyndham Resort Fee Settlement & More - Doctor Of Credit - November 11, 2019:
[…] The Marriott Statistic I Just Can’t Wrap My Arms Around by [...]

LR - November 10, 2019:
Absolutely agree, Universal tickets are unreasonably high. Trying to figure out which [...]

Joseph N. - November 9, 2019:
Dear complainers, do you not get it? The hotels are full, my [...]

Mickey in OR - November 9, 2019:
I agree. Wording of a question is so important, yet we never [...]

Points For Four - November 9, 2019:
Yet this is the headline in the Wall Street Journal “Marriott International [...]