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It Appears Marriott Is Trying Very Hard Not To Piss Off China Right Now

January 17, 2018By Edward Pizzarello1 Comment

After having their website shut down by the Chinese government, Marriott is removing banned books from their hotels and self-reporting to the Chinese government. They’re also publicly broadcasting personnel they’ve fired over incidents involving these perceived disrespectful actions.

Marriott Disrespects China. China Shuts Down Marriott’s Website

January 11, 2018By Edward Pizzarello22 Comments

Marriott disrespected China and paid the price. Boy, did they disrespect China. I mean, horribly so. You won’t believe how bad their behavior was. Mostly because this is a ridiculous story.

Saying Goodbye To The Middle Seat

Alas, if this was only an article about the dreaded worst seat on the plane going away. Instead, it’s a bit of a sad day as we say goodbye to a column that’s been a part of my weekly required reading for over a decade. The Middle Seat is a weekly column published by Scott McCartney. After 20 years he put pen to paper from the middle seat for the final time. His final column, a list of his favorites over the years, follows a piece where he chronicles his […]

Hyatt Announces A New Promo For Q1 Of 2022

Hyatt has announced their first promotion of 2022. As we enter 2022 questions remain about how “normal” the travel year will be. This promotion seems to fit in the category of “normal” pre-pandemic, though it’s a bit more generous if you hold one of the Hyatt credit cards. Here are the details of the new Bonus Journey promo: World of Hyatt members can register now through March 15, 2022, to earn 2,022 Bonus Points for every two qualifying nights after registration, for up to 20 nights from January 15 through April 20, 2022. Eligible nights do not […]

The Craziest Story I Heard About Maximizing Black Friday This Year

It seems like every year I find myself in a conversation with my fellow miles and points nerds about how someone scored an incredible deal on Black Friday by stacking cash back portals and other bonuses with ridiculously low prices. Sometimes there’s FOMO, other times just appreciation from a fellow deal junkie. This year was a mostly quiet Black Friday for me. As the day wound down I texted in a group chat with some good friends who share my love for all things travel. One of the folks in […]

The One Credit Card I’ll Be Using On Black Friday

Bilt Rewards has an exceptional promotion for Black Friday. Earn 5 points per dollar on all purchases on Black Friday. Get instant approval for the card and get a digital card number to use immediately.

Help Some Tiny Wings Fly

I’m getting ready to do something crazy again and I hope you’ll consider helping. The two best ways you can help are by sharing this story with a friend and donating to our fundraiser. Let me give you a bit of background. Give Kids The World is a fabulous charity organization located in Central Florida. They’re not terribly well-known, unless you’re a Disney nerd like me. But, they perform a very important missions. They house the Make a Wish kids who come to Disney World. Thanks to the generosity of […]

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. […]