There are areas of my life where I'd like to think that I'm fairly competent (like writing 10 blog posts per day, knowing everything about 90 Day Fiancé, and taking good pictures of my dog). Then there are areas of my life where I'm a hot mess. I'm a…
I'm sure everyone is tired of hearing about the A321XLR by now, but in this post I wanted to address a big picture concern that many readers have had with the plane. The A321XLR is no doubt incredibly innovative in terms of the route possibilities it…
I have a bone to pick with people. Let me start by acknowledging that I'm a selective germaphobe and I'm also really bad at science (great combo, I know!), so I might end up being totally off base here. That's a risk I'm willing to take. Heck, I'd much…
Airlines don't always do an amazing job keeping passengers updated when they anticipate that a flight will be delayed. I can't even count the number of times I've been at a gate 10 minutes before the scheduled departure time (20 minutes after boarding…
Over the past few years we've seen Delta SkyMiles, United MileagePlus, and American AAdvantage, all adopt revenue based frequent flyer programs. With these changes, you generally accrue miles based on how much you spend on your ticket rather than how…
Several months ago I wrote a guide about Priority Pass restaurants in the US. In light of the news we learned earlier in the week regarding Priority Pass memberships issued through Amex cards no longer getting access to Priority Pass restaurants, I figured…
There are places you travel to with a certain vision of what the experience will be like -- sitting streetside in a Parisian cafe while an accordion plays; inhaling scents of saffron and sumac in a crowded Turkish spice market; being enveloped in the…
Being denied for a credit card is never a good feeling. I remember back when I was 18 and was so excited to apply for credit cards, and then ended up being disappointed when I'd get rejected for cards. I took it personally. Fortunately nowadays I rarely…
While you can certainly spend as much time exploring the areas around Siem Reap as you'd like, it's certainly possible to experience at least a taste of the UNESCO site at Angkor on a shorter trip. We planned our itinerary such that we had an evening…
While applying for Vietnam e-Visas for our group was fairly annoying (an unclear website, weird payment funnels, and having to do separate applications for each person), and Laos visas are arranged on arrival, getting Cambodia visas in advance was basically…
Airports can be confusing, particularly in the case of terminals designed for the jet era that haven't adapted as well to modern aviation. The terminal shift at Los Angeles International Airport earlier a few years ago has inspired improved wayfinding,…
My wife and I used to do a lot of premium cabin trips but now that we are a family of four, we mostly fly economy. We just don't see the point of spending more miles (or worse, money) to fly up-front. When you've got two preschoolers in tow, you're not…
We've written in the past about the huge value to be had with Virtuoso, which typically requires booking through a qualifying travel advisor. What many people don't realize is that you can actually make Virtuoso bookings online as well, so in this post…
Nowadays you have people earning points for just about everything. This ranges from credit card rewards to points for flights and hotel stays, to earning points through all kinds of other third party transactions, from shopping online to buying flowers.…
Chase issues some of the best rewards credit cards out there, though one of the major restrictions associated with being approved for many of their cards is the "5/24 rule." In this post I wanted to provide an update on a previous version of the post…
The Companion Pass is probably the best way to get discounts on Southwest Airlines, as you're effectively getting 2-for-1 travel for as long as you have the pass. And before anyone makes a snarky comment about no one at OMAAT flying WN, the last time…
Folks, I want to offer my unequivocal apologies for the way this was presented, and thus how it came across. My intention was not to make this sound as though I believed every detail of the story -- it's obviously outlandish (at best), but also came…
I do what I can to write about the best deals for earning and redeeming miles. In this post I wanted to share what I consider to be eight of the most useful sweet-spot award redemptions right now. While there are lots of great redemption values out there,…
Ah, tax season. As many Americans are starting to finalize their tax returns, questions about earning points for making those payments always come up. I pay all my estimated quarterly and annual taxes by credit card, so figured it would be helpful to…
President Trump has taken to Twitter this morning to give Boeing some advice for what they should do with the 737 MAX, given the current fiasco (along with Tweets about immigration, Mueller, etc.): "What do I know about branding, maybe nothing (but I…
The topic of tipping hotel housekeeping is a controversial one. This is something that has been discussed to great lengths over the years, and people seem pretty evenly split as to what the right thing to do is. So, is it appropriate to tip hotel housekeeping…
