Magic Village

This May Be One Of The Most Valuable Hotel Redemptions I’ve Ever Seen

September 10, 2018By Edward Pizzarello19 Comments

This may be one of the most valuable hotel redemptions I’ve ever seen. Purists may roll their eyes, but bear with me.

How Amazon HQ2 Will Affect DC-Area Airports

HQ2? 3? 1.75? Amazon announced 3 new campuses, one of which will be situated in Northern Virginia across from DCA airport. The DC area is served by 3 airports. Reagan National is the closest to Amazon’s campus and also the most crowded. BWI is the low-cost alternative while Dulles has a ton of business traffic. How will Amazon affect the airports in the nation’s capitol?

New Episode: How The Airlines Are Screwing Customers, Cranky Flier On A Roll

The unintended consequence of Basic Economy fares? Even if you buy up to “regular old coach”, you still might not get a seat assignment. Brett Snyder and I discuss this and a whole lot more on this episode of the Miles To Go podcast.

Now Boarding: Kevin Marshall, Economy Class & Beyond

After crawling out from underneath a rock and being sick for the better part of a week, I’m back amongst the land of the living and getting caught up on blogging. Recently I caught up with Kevin Marshall 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 […]

$10 Free From Amazon With Amazon Cash

Free money is never a bad thing, right? Right now, Amazon is offering you $10 free when you sign-up for Amazon Cash and deposit $40. What’s Amazon Cash? Well, if you’ve been living under the same rock I have, you’re in luck. I just signed up, so I know the process now. Amazon Cash is essentially a way to load your Amazon account without buying gift cards or swiping a credit card online. The sign-up process is quick and easy. I clicked on the banner that appeared in my account […]

One Day Price Drop! My Favorite Anker Charging Products Are On Sale Today

My Amazon Deal of the Day email shows that half a dozen of my favorite Anker products are on sale today. If you follow my blog, you know I’m a big fan of pretty much all the Anker gadgets I own. Here are some of the Anker gear I like best: Anker Braided 6ft Lightning Cable for $9.09 Historically speaking, this is the cheapest price I can recall for my favorite cable. It was just over $10 the last time I noticed it on sale. I’ve never had one of […]

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.

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. […]

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 […]