San Isabel Forest

Our Kids Fell In Love With Bear Canyon Ranch. We Did, Too.

April 20, 2018By Edward Pizzarello1 Comment

A root beer challenge, S’mores bar, cowboys, camping and friends. All at 9,000 feet above sea level.

Hyatt Announces A New Fall Promo: Double Points (And Double Nights At All-Inclusives)

Hyatt announced a new promo today that offers members the opportunity to earn increased rewards and a potential fast-track to elite status. In an environment where hotel promos have been lackluster or absent, the new Hyatt promo should be a nice bonus for fall travel. Let’s take a look at the two components. Double Points On Stays Of 2 Nights Or More Starting September 15th, 2022 and continuing through December 20th, 2022 members can earn double base points on all stays of two nights or more. You’ll earn an additional […]

Week 2 Of Deals! Daily Getaways Has 20% Off Marriott Gift Cards And More

Week two of Daily Getaways is here and it’s better than week one. Some of the best Daily Getaways have been gone for years but week two brings back a fan favorite. More on that in a bit. If you’re unfamiliar with Daily Getaways, it’s an annual promotion sponsored by the US Travel Association. You’ll find daily travel deals that go on sale each day at 1pm ET. Daily Getaways took a break during the pandemic but is back again in 2022, getting started today. While all the deals may […]

Daily Getaways Is Back! Here’s A Quick Look At Week One

If you’re new to the points and miles world you might wonder what Daily Getaways is. It’s an annual promotion sponsored by the US Travel Association. Daily Getaways took a break during the pandemic but is back again in 2022, getting started today. While all the deals may not be spectacular, there are some gems. And, for folks who don’t travel for a living or have a ton of credit card spend it can be a great way to jump start a vacation plan. There are four weeks of deals […]

Earn 250 Free Bilt Rewards Linking To Amazon (And Another 250 For Redeeming)

I earn affiliate credit if you sign up for the Bilt Rewards Mastercard using links in this story. Bilt Rewards has rolled out another partner for redeeming your points and they’re offering a bonus to celebrate the new partnership. You don’t need to sign up for their credit card to be a member of Bilt Rewards and earn the bonus points. Bilt Rewards is the only program that allows you to earn valuable points when paying rent at no cost to yourself. There are other ways to earn points for […]

Planning Our Trip To Iceland

Iceland has been on our radar for a while. Coming out of the pandemic, which significantly curtailed our international travel, we asked both of our children to pick out a destination that was high on their list. Our teenage daughter quickly picked Iceland. I knew I had my work cut out for me in terms of paying for the trip. I plan to write quite a bit about Iceland. Here’s what I hope to write about in the future: Hotel reviews of the Konsulat and Canopy (Hilton properties) in Rekyjavik, […]

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. […]

Christian - July 25, 2022:
Unfortunately it's limited value, limited availability, or both.

Our New Favorite Hotel Chain, The Best No-Annual-Fee Card Out There, A Disappointing Marriott Upgrade - Your Mileage May Vary - July 11, 2022:
[…] purchases with your loyalty points. Bilt Rewards has added the online [...]

Edward Pizzarello - July 4, 2022:
Russell, we ended up spending the night in Hofn. Other than walking [...]

Russell Starrett - July 4, 2022:
I would skip Hofn. We did just a few weeks ago to [...]

Edward Pizzarello - July 2, 2022:
Dave, IHG doesn't run status challenges very often but they do have one [...]