Pont des Arts Bridge

Getting Caught Up On What’s New In The Travel World

July 27, 2014By Edward Pizzarello2 Comments

Our family just got back from a great 10-day vacation in Italy and I’m getting caught up. There were a bunch of things I either missed or didn’t have time to touch base with all of you on. You’ll find a list of them below, with my thoughts: British Airways fuel surcharges are one of the very few major bummers I encounter with oneworld awards, especially given the “friendly” partner pricing United announced last year. View From The Wing to the rescue with a solution to help. Do this today! […]

Paris, Abbreviated. Walking Around Paris, Angelina And The Pont Des Arts Bridge

March 26, 2014By Edward Pizzarello2 Comments

Our first afternoon in Paris was a fun one. We got to enjoy macaroons and decadent hot chocolate at Angelina, a couple of quick picture stops, and an unforgettable fun family moment at the Pont des Arts bridge, anding a lock to the many thousands already there.

Earn Up to 5,000 Bonus Points With World of Hyatt Credit Card February Spending Offer

Chase and World of Hyatt are teaming up to offer up to 5,000 bonus points. World of Hyatt credit card holders can earn points based on the number of transactions they have on their card in February.

Hyatt Offering Free COVID Testing At All Latin America Resorts

Hyatt just announced that all of their resorts in Latin America will be providing free COVID-19 testing for guests as well as discounted room rates if you get stuck due to testing delays or a positive test result. This covers 19 properties in Mexico, Costa Rica, the Caribbean and South America. This is almost certainly in response to the recent US regulation that requires a negative COVID-19 test to enter the US for all international travelers (including US citizens). This offer covers up to two complimentary COVID-19 tests per guestroom […]

Mistakes In Camping. Why I Ended Up Purchasing Two Pickup Trucks In 30 Days.

It’s the best laid plans, they say, right? Like most of you, we’re jonesing to get back out on the road to travel. My wife and I knew that any plan to get back to travel would have to involve a few key points. First, it would have to check the boxes for our daughter’s anxiety. She’s dealt with anxiety since she was quite young and has developed some pretty amazing tools to keep it in check. But, germs are absolutely one of her major hot buttons. As she said […]

Our Family Is Starting To Get Our Travel Groove Back

It was a cacophony of voices. We sat down for dinner this evening and we were talking about a return to our friends’ ranch in Colorado. It was a fun, light-hearted discussion. We haven’t been talking too much about travel because we’ve chosen to stay home, other than our RV adventures. Then, I asked the question that lit the fire. I looked at my kids and asked them, “Travel restrictions are lifted immediately, what’s the first place you’d want to go?” Not a single person hesitated. Even my wife jumped […]

Travelers To The US Will Be Required To Quarantine Upon Arrival

It was just last week that we learned a negative COVID-19 test result would be required for all passengers entering the US. This is applicable to US citizens and visitors alike, with airline crews one of the only groups largely exempted from the rule. Now, it appears that the United States will institute a requirement to quarantine upon arrival as well. There aren’t a ton of details on what the quarantine requirement will look like just yet. For better or worse, I expect it won’t be nearly as restrictive as […]

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. […]