Salzburg

Wrapping Up Sicily, Salzburg And Vienna

August 28, 2017By Edward Pizzarello4 Comments

Places are sections of a quilt. We make that quilt bigger the more we travel. Some sections, or squares, have vivid pictures. Others, just an abstract of a long-ago memory. They’re all wonderful. My kids’ happiness won’t necessarily be the size of their quilt, but rather the detail. I can’t wait to add some more squares.

Tasty Donuts (No, Really) In Salzburg

August 6, 2017By Edward Pizzarello0 Comments

There are donuts in Salzburg if you happen to be looking for them!

Exploring Salzburg: Cable Car at Untersbergbahn

August 5, 2017By Edward Pizzarello0 Comments

An enjoyable day trip from Salzburg.

Exploring Salzburg: Day Trip To The Salt Mines At Berchtesgaden

July 29, 2017By Edward Pizzarello2 Comments

Initially, I wouldn’t have imagined a salt mine would be a “fun” place to visit. I thought it would be interesting for me. I was surprised when my wife suggested it was family friendly. She turned out to be right.

Walking Around Salzburg

July 20, 2017By Edward Pizzarello6 Comments

Our brief time walking around Salzburg. It’s an enjoyable city that we would definitely return to.

Our Review Of The Sound Of Music Tour In Salzburg

July 12, 2017By Edward Pizzarello1 Comment

Filming sites from the Sound of Music are very accessible around Salzburg. They look remarkably like they did in the movie 40 years ago. A half-day tour allowed us to see plenty of sights.

Hotel Review: Sheraton Grand Salzburg

July 3, 2017By Edward Pizzarello2 Comments

The Sheraton Grand Hotel in Salzburg is located downtown near many popular attractions. It’s a member of the Starwood Preferred Guest program. The hotel can be a great value for an award redemption.

Trip Report Introduction. Sicily And Salzburg

May 24, 2017By Edward Pizzarello3 Comments

Getting started on a trip report for our vacation in Sicily and Salzburg. Stay tuned for a ton more posts about our trip.

When Your Kid Gets Bit By The Travel Bug

March 25, 2017By Edward Pizzarello7 Comments

Our daughter has officially been bitten by the travel bug. I hope there’s no cure!

2022 Hotel Elite Status Recap And 2023 Goals

I recapped my airline status achievements for 2022 last week. I finally got a free moment to talk about where I ended up in regards to hotel elite status last year. The title of this post is only a little deceptive, in that at most I have one hotel status goal for 2023. But, let’s take a look back at 2022 first. You can also hear us discuss hotel elite status on a recent podcast episode. Hyatt Globalist Status This is probably the lowest night count I’ve had at Hyatt […]

TODAY ONLY: 100% Transfer Bonus To Hawaiian Airlines And Double Points On All Spending Except Rent!

I earn affiliate credit if you sign up for the Bilt Rewards Mastercard using links in this story. Today I’m emptying my Bilt Rewards account. My only regret is that I only have 130,000 Bilt Rewards points to transfer. For one day only Bilt Rewards is partnering up with Hawaiian Airlines to offer the most lucrative transfer bonus I’ve taken advantage of in years (maybe decades). Today, February 1st, all transfer from Bilt Rewards are not the normal 1:1 ratio. For every Bilt Rewards Point you transfer you’ll get two […]

Great Rent Day Promo: 100% Transfer Bonus To Hawaiian Airlines, One Day Only

I earn affiliate credit if you sign up for the Bilt Rewards Mastercard using links in this story. In 2022 Bilt Rewards introduced the concept of bonus earning on the first of each month, referred to as “Rent Day”. It started with double points on all transactions (except for rent) on the first day of the month for Bilt Rewards Mastercard holders. Now, Bilt has started announcing additional promotions for Rent Day, and this month is excellent. In fact, I’m debating draining my entire Bilt Rewards account for this one. […]

EXTREME? I Had Five Different Tickets Booked For Our Flight Home This Week

It still amazes me how much a seemingly small change during the pandemic has come to my rescue so many times. Near the beginning of the pandemic virtually all US airlines eliminated change fees. United went first, Delta and American quickly followed suit. At the time it wasn’t something that moved the needle because nobody was traveling. But, I had the sense then that this would be a big deal. One of the biggest benefit to elite status was the ability to reduce or waive some fees that airlines typically […]

2022 Airline Status Recap & 2023 Status Goals

I’m finally getting a moment to breathe and look back on my 2022 year in travel. Let’s start with airline status. If you want to hear more about my airline status goals we had a detailed discussion this week on the pod. At a high level, 2022 was a year where I continued to choose whatever airline offered me the best itinerary to maximize my time. A nod was paid to cheap first class fares since it’s virtually impossible to be at peak productivity. It was also about trying to […]

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. […]