Natural Springs

Swimming With The Fishes. Athens & Paris For Dollars A Day

November 21, 2015By Edward Pizzarello0 Comments

Welcome to my multi-part review of our summer vacation. We spent 12 days abroad, predominately in Athens and Paris. We did squeeze in about half a day in Amsterdam before heading home. While I’m writing the series, I’m happy to answer any questions you have ahead of time. 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 […]

Radisson Rewards Program Changes May Be Positive For Members

It was just a couple of weeks ago that we learned the Radisson Rewards program would split in two. That might seem like an odd decision for a loyalty program. Ultimately, it didn’t have anything to do with customer preference or the like (it’s actually a regulatory issue). It’s notable (maybe only to me) that Radisson is one of the first hotel chains I have memories of. My father was a road warrior and used to book us at Radisson hotels for family vacations. This was back in the day […]

Targeted Awesome Offer, 1,000 Bonus AAdvantage Miles For Each Night At Hyatt!

As we start to return to travel after what seems to be the worst of the pandemic, travel companies are starting to flex their ability to encourage customers to travel. Early on, though prices were low we didn’t see too many promotions. That was probably an indication that airlines and hotels didn’t think they could convince people to get out there and book a trip. We’ve actually seen fewer incentives than I would have expected so far. Low prices are certainly an incentive, but I don’t think that alone is […]

It’s Time To Stop Losing Sleep Over No-Notice Devaluations

Let’s cover the basics before the pitchforks come out. Plenty of time for those in a few minutes. But first, a few clarifying statements: At a high level, the miles and points you earn today will be worth less in the future. Airline and hotel loyalty programs will make changes to the value of those miles and points in a variety of ways. In many cases they will not provide notice. When programs change value without notice, you will frequently see bloggers and other members of the miles and points […]

Air Canada Launches Cool New Feature: Status Pass!

If you live in the United States and haven’t been paying attention to Air Canada, continue to do so at your own risk. Since the middle of last year, Air Canada has been announcing new components of a completely reimagined loyalty program under a familiar name, Aeroplan. While it’s certainly good news for Canadian residents, it’s also good news for US residents. When Air Canada announced the new program last year, there was plenty to be excited about. New status perks and new credit cards were really enticing. In two […]

United Cuts Deep On International Flights at Dulles

The pandemic has yielded plenty of unexpected decisions by airlines and hotel chains over the past year. Recent moves by United Airlines aren’t all that surprising in general, but the depth of the cuts did surprise me. It’s clear from these cuts that United doesn’t think international travel will come roaring back as more vaccines find their ways into people’s arms. United Cuts International Flights At Dulles Airport The Points Guy reported on a deep number of cuts on international flights at Dulles Airport. Dulles Airport, located outside of Washington, […]

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. […]