Northern Virginia Travel Meetup

Come Talk Travel (And Toys) With Us Next Week! Northern Virginia/DC/Maryland Travel Meetup

December 4, 2018By Edward Pizzarello2 Comments

Come talk travel with us next week! If you’re in the Northern Virginia, DC, Maryland area next Monday, bring a new, unwrapped toy to our travel meetup!

The Next DC-Area Travel Meetup Is Set. Come Join Us!

November 12, 2018By Edward Pizzarello5 Comments

Things have been a bit quiet here the past week or so. Between some work travel overseas and ending up sick (sick travel is the worst) I’ve done a bad job keeping up with all of you. I’m hoping we can get back to some normalcy pretty quickly. In the interim, I have some good news for local DC folks. Many of you have asked me when our next DC travel Meetup would be. Well, thanks to persistence by my partner-in-crime Jeanne as well as Trevor, we’re back in business. […]

The Next DC/MD/NoVA Travel Meetup Is October 10th!

September 12, 2017By Edward Pizzarello3 Comments

Are you joining us to talk all things travel? I can’t wait to get together for another happy hour.

Check To See If Your Personal Info Was Stolen In The Marriott Data Breach

Marriott now has a website where you can request if your info was stolen. They won’t tell you immediately whether you were affected. But, they might tell you someday.

Hyatt Launches Their First Promotion of 2019 (And Includes Award Stays)!

World of Hyatt launches their first promotion of 2019 where members can earn up to 1,500 bonus points per night for stays at Hyatt hotels.

The Biggest Point Redemption I’ve Ever Seen

Over 3 million points. I can’t recall any redemption quite that big. There was the 1 million points to throw out the first pitch in Game 7 of the World Series. That seems kinda cheap compared to this.

That Day My Daughter Completely Embarrassed My Wife On Southwest Airlines

Kids bring an incredible amount of joy to our lives. I never saw it coming, and I couldn’t be happier showing my kids the world. Every once in a while, we see life through their eyes and it can be equal parts embarrassing and hilarious. That’s this story.

20 Years Later, Alanis Morissette Adds Southwest Airlines to the “Ironic” Lexicon

James Corden is a funny guy. Alanis Morissette makes it better with a riff on Southwest Airlines.

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. […]

Edward Pizzarello - February 17, 2019:
Jennifer, I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing near you! Hopefully [...]

Edward Pizzarello - February 17, 2019:
Jennifer, really wish I had the answer to your question.

Edward Pizzarello - February 17, 2019:
Traveler, very glad to hear you've had a bunch of success. It's [...]

Edward Pizzarello - February 17, 2019:
Mickey, just consider my your personal Guinea pig. ;)

Edward Pizzarello - February 17, 2019:
Martin, the Universal pricing is much more variable than Disney when it [...]