Gare du Nord

Taking The Train From Paris To Amsterdam. Athens & Paris For Dollars A Day

June 13, 2016By Edward Pizzarello4 Comments

Welcome to my multi-part review of our summer vacation. We spent 12 days abroad, predominately in Athens and Paris (and a half day in Amsterdam before heading home). Happy to answer questions as I finish up the series. We traveled in mid-July, so right in the middle of the Athens financial crisis. Here’s most of what I expect to cover, including links to posts I’ve already completed: Planning Our Summer Vacation! British Airways First and Business Class Lounges at Philadelphia Airport US Airways Business Class from Philadelphia to Athens […]

Paris, Abbreviated. Getting From Charles De Gaulle Airport to Downtown

March 10, 2014By Edward Pizzarello20 Comments

Previous (and future) posts in this trip report: 1. Lufthansa Business Class To Paris Via Frankfurt 2. Park Hyatt Place Vendome 3. Walking Around Paris, Angelina And The Pont Des Arts Bridge 4. Eiffel Tower 5. Laduree 6. Café K? Trocadero and The Eiffel Tower At Night 7. Lufthansa New Business Class, Upstairs On The 747-8i We had a bit of an odd experience getting from the airport to downtown Paris and I figured it was worth sharing. I hope this helps those of you bound for Paris or other […]

United Airlines Adding New Routes to Europe and Caribbean, Increasing Frequency

Looking for new destinations in the Caribbean? How about exploring Sicily? United rolled out a number of new routes and expanded service this morning, with a focus on heavy business class configurations.

Easy Shopping Portal Bonus If You Haven’t Shopped With United, Up To 1,000 Bonus Miles

If you or a member of your family haven’t made a purchase via the United Airlines shopping portal, they have a decent first-time bonus with a low spending requirement.

Save 25% On Disney World Tickets This Fall And Sleep In!

Saving money on a Disney World vacation is on every family’s radar when they plan a trip to visit the mouse. Disney has released a variety of different ticket options over the years that have varied in their ability to save you money. A recent option is likely to be a better fit for many folks.

Hong Kong Protests: Why We Can All Learn From Cathay Pacific’s ex-CEO

If media reports are correct, Cathay Pacific’s ex-CEO Rupert Hogg made an incredible sacrifice for his employees.

Did Boeing Promise Southwest Millions Of Dollars If 737 MAX Pilots Needed A Simulator?

A small nugget in a recent story about the Boeing 737 MAX has me wondering if Boeing made significant financial promises to airlines in regards to the training requirements on the MAX.

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. […]