Volcano

Exploring Mt. Etna, An Active Volcano

June 7, 2017By Edward Pizzarello3 Comments

We’ve never had the opportunity to climb an active volcano. Mount Etna, via Sapienza Refuge turned out to be one of the highlights of our Sicily trip.

A Volcano Demonstrates Why The World Makes An Excellent Classroom

March 18, 2017By Edward Pizzarello3 Comments

One of the best aspects of travel is when our children connect a previous trip to a real-time event. A volcano in Europe recently helped us do just that.

Why Uber Is Awful And Airbnb Is Awful

Can a company be revolutionary and awful? Uber has achieved both in their history.

Weathering 10 Days With COVID In Hotels

I spent 10 days in hotels quarantining with COVID-19 to keep my family safe. Along the way I learned why hotel life in limited service and extended hotels leaves much to be desired.

Maya Leibman, Chief Information Officer At American Airlines, Stepping Down

We learned today that Maya Leibman, CIO of American Airlines, is stepping down from her role with the airline. Normally, this wouldn’t be the type of story I would cover, an airline exec stepping down. But, Maya Leibman is no normal airline exec. I had the good fortune to meet Maya for the first time when she served as President of the airline’s loyalty program, AAdvantage. While I don’t recall the exact date it was in early 2011. Maya was attending a conference that I was helping organize. Since I […]

A Good Illustration That Not All Points Are Created Equally

I recall a conversation with my father-in-law a number of years ago where he was taking about points he earned with a Navy Federal credit card. He felt like no matter how much he spent on the card he never got any worthwhile travel rewards. Because of that, he assumed there was no reason to bother collecting points and miles. It’s a discussion I’ve had dozens of times over the years with folks and likely half a dozen with my father-in-law (I’m a glutton for punishment). How you earn points […]

2 Promos: 500 Free Hyatt Points And 15% Off Paid Hyatt Bookings

I do earn referral credit if you sign-up for the Bilt Mastercard using the link in this post. However, you don’t need to sign-up for the card to earn the 500 bonus points or use the discount code. Free points are one of my favorite things and Bilt Rewards has a super easy way to earn 500 World of Hyatt points in just a few clicks. Bilt Rewards also has a new Hyatt discount code that could save you money on your next stay. More on that later. The free […]

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. […]