Late Check-Out

What’s Next After Marriott Gets Final Approval On Their Merger With Starwood?

September 20, 2016By Edward Pizzarello10 Comments

Now that the merger between Marriott and Starwood is officially approved, what can we expect next?

Cheap Flights To Vancouver, 1000 Free United Miles And New Pre-Check Airlines

May 21, 2016By Edward Pizzarello0 Comments

The Best of the Rest is my effort to summarize all the travel/miles & points stories that interested me on a daily basis but didn’t have time to write about in length. Culled from over 100 blogs/authors I follow, some are passed along without comment, while I add my analysis to others. This is your shortcut to find out what’s going on in the travel world without having to read dozens of travel blogs to get all the best info.

Hyatt Extending Guest Of Honor Benefits For Diamond Members

November 9, 2015By Edward Pizzarello2 Comments

Hyatt is chock full of announcements today. Here’s a nice plus for Diamond members that will be extended into 2016.

Uber Will Be Allowed To Continue Operating In London

Uber will allowed to continue operating in London. For years, Uber has tussled with Transport for London, the major regulatory agency for car transport in the UK city. Uber has been on a series of shorter extensions of their license. They’ve been seeking a 5-year license in London. Back in November of last year they had lost a ruling to extend their license, though they filed an appeal. Now, they’ve won that appeal. Uber Wins Transport For London Appeal Uber announced this morning that it had been granted an 18-month […]

Even If You’re Not A Disney Fan, This Stat May Surprise You

Disney World is one of those places that most people love or hate. I happen to fall into the former category, but even if you fall into the latter, or don’t spend time focusing on Disney, a recent statistic I heard really surprises me. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic over the past 6 months, travel is down significantly. Disneyland in California hasn’t even reopened yet, though Disney World has been open for a few months now. For the past 20 years, Disney has had their own timeshare program, dubbed Disney Vacation […]

My First Travel In 5 Months Shows Why Details Matter Right Now

I boarded a plane in New Zealand in early March, bound for the United States. While I sat on the tarmac the US announced they were closing the borders to pretty much all travelers arriving from Europe. At the time, it seemed surreal. When I landed in the US, I spent a few days working in Las Vegas. While I was there, school was cancelled for two weeks at our home in Virginia. I finished my work and headed home. At the time, I expected to stay home for a […]

WHOA: A Week In A Maldives Overwater Villa For $2,000 (Refundable)

There have been some insane travel deals the past few months, but most of them have been for travel now (or in the near future). Now, my buddy Richard Kerr has found an incredible deal on TravelZoo. For $2,000 you get 7 nights in an overwater villa, including all taxes and fees. It also seems to have pretty generous refund rules. The resort appears to be called You and Me. And, it has a pretty awesome looking underwater restaurant (which you get to dine at once for free). Two things […]

American Express Begins Reopening Centurion Lounges

American Express has been able to boast some of the best airline lounges in the United States since they opened their first Centurion Lounge in 2013 at Las Vegas-McCarran International Airport. When the pandemic began halting most travel in March, American Express closed all 12 of their lounges worldwide. While American, Delta and United Airlines temporarily closed a number of their lounges in the United States, they did keep some open. Additionally, the Big 3 US airlines have slowly been reopening lounges and have also recently announced increases in the […]

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. […]