Santiago

Cool New SPG Auction: Emirates Business Class And 5 Nights In A Suite

May 31, 2018By Edward Pizzarello2 Comments

Business class for 2? Check. Inaugural flight to a cool city? Check. 5 nights in a suite? This is so tempting…..

Awesome Deal! $1,000 BUSINESS CLASS Round-Trip To Chile!

December 15, 2017By Edward Pizzarello9 Comments

If you want a comfy way to fly to South America, I wouldn’t sleep on these deals!

Cheap Flights To Japan, Stolen Car From A Car-Sharing Service And Delta Up To No Good Again

January 22, 2016By Edward Pizzarello2 Comments

Today’s Best of the Rest includes a crazy story about a stolen car you need to read. If that’s the only link you click on today, I’ll be happy.

United Deploying Their 787-9s Out Of Houston Later This Year

May 12, 2015By Edward Pizzarello2 Comments

The 787-9 stretch version is coming to Houston in a big way for United Airlines starting later this summer. Here are a list of initial routes you’ll see the new version flying.

A Reminder Of The Crazy Trip I Booked. Available Again Today

December 8, 2014By Edward Pizzarello9 Comments

I’ve done some crazy things related to travel over the years. Flying to Norway for a jaunt on a plane comes to mind more recently, as well as taking my daughter to Paris for the weekend on Valentine’s Day. A tweet from The Flight Deal this morning reminded me of my next crazy trip, one I’m still quasi-regretting booking. For those folks looking to mileage run, though, it’s actually a pretty good deal, especially given the routing. I ended up booking JFK-SCL-GRU-IGU-LIM-JFK. Just in case you haven’t memorized every airport […]

Hilton Goes First, Dropping Elite Status Requirements For 2021

Travel brands across the world have been struggling with how to get customers to travel since the start of the pandemic. Many of those offers were patchwork in the beginning to solve a problem that seemed to be measured in weeks, maybe months. Six months later it’s clear that travel is on a very slow path to recovery and major travel companies need a long-term plan. Hilton recently made clear how much they value increasing/retaining their loyalty ranks in 2021. Hilton Reduces Elite Status Requirements Early on, Hilton was the […]

HELP WANTED: Hiring An Intern

Boy, have I been swamped lately…… I need your help! Between my blog and podcast (with another surprise or two on the way) I’ve just run out of time. I much prefer writing and recording than social media, but that’s really just me putting my head in the sand. So, I need someone who has a bit of social media experience and a lot of excitement to work on a part-time basis as an intern/coordinator to help me make things great! The right person will be willing to maintain a […]

Why It’s Time To Start Lowering Hotel Award Redemption Rates (Probably Not Why You Think)

As 2020 starts to wind down, there have been plenty of announcements from airline and hotel loyalty programs designed to keep members engaged. The first salvo revolved around reducing the requirements needed to earn elite status. This was at a time when it seemed like we might get back to some level or normalcy fairly quickly. Heck, at that point I thought I’d be home for 3 or 4 weeks and then back on the road. Little did I know then that I probably wouldn’t get on another plane this […]

Hyatt Announces (Mostly) Customer-Friendly Extensions And Changes

Hyatt has announced some more changes and extensions to key benefits that should benefit most travelers. In light of the virtually unprecedented financial impact of COVID-19, travel brands have had to quickly adapt. Back in April, Hyatt moved to extend elite status and other key benefits such as free night awards. At that point, nobody was really sure when travel would rebound. The big chains made the decision to wave the white flag on getting loyalty members to qualify for status in 2020. Now, Hyatt is tweaking a few things […]

Uber Will Be Allowed To Continue Operating In London

Uber will allowed to continue operating in London. For years, Uber has tussled with Transport for London, the major regulatory agency for car transport in the UK city. Uber has been on a series of shorter extensions of their license. They’ve been seeking a 5-year license in London. Back in November of last year they had lost a ruling to extend their license, though they filed an appeal. Now, they’ve won that appeal. Uber Wins Transport For London Appeal Uber announced this morning that it had been granted an 18-month […]

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. […]