Observation Deck

Here Are My Favorite Travel Podcasts (And A Few More)

July 30, 2018By Edward Pizzarello4 Comments

Here are some of my favorite travel podcasts, and a few others I can’t stop listening to.

Pizza On A Podcast! Hanging Out On The Observation Deck

July 20, 2017By Edward Pizzarello0 Comments

I always have a ton of fun talking travel. That’s why I was happy when the Observation Deck folks let me ramble for 30 minutes about a range of subjects. Listen in!

Starting Today: 7 Days Worth Of 6X On Dining, 4X on Travel And 2X On Virtually Everything Else

I earn affiliate credit if you sign up for the Bilt Rewards Mastercard using links in this story. If you’re not going to sign-up for a really lucrative, no annual fee card this week, when are you? For the next seven days you can earn double points on virtually all charges on the Bilt Rewards Mastercard, and that’s even if you procrastinated until today to apply for the card. That’s: 6 points per dollar on all dining charges (normally 3X) 4 points per dollar on all travel charges (normally 2X) […]

DC, MD, VA Meet-Up Thursday, December 8th! Benefits Toys For Tots

Those of you that have followed my blog over the years will recall that we used to have occasional meet-ups with other travel geeks in the DC area. The pandemic put a pause on that for quite some time but we’ve been talking about getting back to it for quite some time. Thanks to my friend Jeanne Hoffman for kicking me in the butt to get this tradition started again. Thursday, December 8th is when we get this tradition back under way. I’ll be joined by Jeanne and our friend […]

LAST DAY? Unlimited Flying For One Year On Frontier For $599

Of course there are plenty of limitations in the T&C, but Frontier Airlines launched one of the most interesting offers in recent memory this week. Their GoWild Pass gives you unlimited Frontier flights for one year for the price of $599. The last announced opportunity to purchase the pass is 11:59pm MST on Friday, November 18th. What’s The Catch? Well, there’s more than one. But, if you fork over $599 for a year of flying, here are some of the major restrictions: You can only book a domestic flight one […]

Back To The Future: United Finally Implementing Higher Status Requirements, With Some New Twists

Back in 2019 the airlines were gearing up to thin their elite ranks. Travel was booming, though not the unbelievable demand we’re seeing this year. Late in 2019 United announced a pretty significant revamp of how customers would earn elite status. Just a few months later, the reality of COVID-19 caused the airlines to rapidly change direction. In essence, the tougher qualification requirements wouldn’t see the light of day in 2020. Nor 2021 or 2022. As we head into 2023, United has announced that they will be adopting the increased […]

Following Up After Our Crazy Fundraising Day

Two days after and I’m still sore. We descended on Central Florida last week to see how much money we could raise for an incredible organization, Give Kids The World. Give Kids The World provides cost-free vacations to families with critically ill children. These kids get a great place to stay, free tickets to Disney World and Universal, presents and a virtually unlimited supply of ice cream. Last year we raised over $20,000 to support their mission. How Did We Do This Year? This year we set out to break […]

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. […]