Middle Seat

A Loyalty Program Is A Two-Way Street

October 12, 2016By Edward Pizzarello4 Comments

Shame on you? Shame on me? Who’s to be blamed when a loyalty program decides not to honor a promotion.

Help Me Help A Reader: Downgraded On Trans-Pacific Flight

October 28, 2015By Edward Pizzarello4 Comments

What happens when the seat you pay for is broken? What should the airline do to make it right? Help out a reader by weighing in here.

A (Somewhat) Typical Business Travel Day

January 22, 2015By Edward Pizzarello0 Comments

Some people think that my travel life is all sunshine and roses. Sure, they think, maybe it can be a drag from time to time to travel for work, but you get to visit all these cool places! Yes, the vacations can be tons of fun. And, sometimes work travel is fun. Just not as often as you might think. I decided to log one of my recent travel days from start to finish to give a bit of an inside view to the “glamour” that is my travel life. In […]

Hyatt Announces Their Spring Promo Featuring Bonus Points And Free Nights

Hyatt has announced a spring promotion that should be rewarding to those folks who are traveling. While it may be a bit early for business travel, this promotion can even serve as a rebate on leisure travel when redeeming your points. Hyatt Bonus Journeys Promotion Details Here are the details on the promotion: From February 23 through May 15, 2021, all members can register to earn 2,000 Bonus Points every two qualifying nights from March 1 through June 15, 2021. Nights do not have to be consecutive and can include stays across 1,000+ locations worldwide, […]

Reader Question: Which Credit Card Should I Keep?

Credit cards can be an incredible way to earn miles and points for vacations. In many cases, people earn more miles and points from credit card spending than actual travel. But, the ability to earn miles and points comes with some caveats. Those credit cards can carry higher annual fees than a cash back credit card. That’s why you’ll hear me say frequently that you should be evaluating the credit cards you carry. Are they paying for themselves? If not, they need to go. We talk about this all the […]

Help Us Plan Our Summer Trip AND Do Some Good At The Same Time!

I’ve got $500 burning a hole in my pocket. Can you help me with that? I was planning to write up an article asking folks to send suggestions for our summer vacation, but a friend of mine popped an idea in my mind for a little twist. In case you missed it, our family bought an RV last summer. While we love to travel to far away places the COVID-19 pandemic definitely got in the way of that. We started out by renting RVs, which I highly recommend before buying. […]

DEAL! Business Class To Brazil From $475 Roundtrip!

It’s been a while now since I covered a deal fare. That’s due to the pandemic. Even when some folks started traveling, I just didn’t have the wanderlust back yet. While I’m still getting my groove back our family has started thinking about travel again in a meaningful way. So, when I woke up this morning to a travel deal, it actually felt right to write about it. I was excited, energized in a way I haven’t been for a while. But, enough about me, let’s talk about the deal! […]

A First-Hand Look Inside Canada’s Travel Quarantine Hotels Paints A Dismal Picture

Throughout the pandemic different countries have had drastically different reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic. The countries playing it safest (such as New Zealand) virtually locked down their country. In the specific case of New Zealand, I can recall seeing pictures of a sporting event there a number of months ago where the stands were packed and nobody wore masks. They were able to do so because there were literally no COVID-19 cases in the country at that time. The United States has consistently been on the opposite end of 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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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. […]