Using miles and rewards for cheap or free adventures.
Latest Blog Posts
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My 2024 Travel Year in Review
Now that it’s been a full year of travel, I thought I’d revisit where I’ve been. Needless to say, I’ve been busy! This post summarizes my 2024 travels by air, and highlights a few memorable ones. You can compare this to my post from last year. MyFlightRadar24 Travel Stats For those unfamiliar, FlightRadar24 has a…
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My repositioning trip to Toronto (plus mini-panics)
Ok. My bags are all packed, I’m ready to go to Spain! That means first I need to get to Toronto to catch my transatlantic flight. United was running a promotion at the time and I got flights from LAS to YYZ for just around $100 on a full Economy ticket. I had initially scheduled…
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Introduction: Christmas Markets 2 (with Spain on the side)
Last December, I made a trip with some coworkers to Vienna just to visit the Christmas Markets. I LOVED IT – so much so that when my mom had Flying Blue miles leftover and about to expire, I just had to find a way to go back. Let this be a warning – you should…
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I had my second painful overnight delay
Welp, it happened again. First, it was Miami, which I detailed in this post here. That was just a bit of bad luck and a completely avoidable mistake. Now, I’ve been stranded overnight a second time, but this time it was in DFW. And this time, there was nothing I could have done to create…
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Choosing the right credit card
I get this question all the time – “what card should I get”? My answer is always the same: it depends. I know it seems like a bit of a scapegoat and “consultant” answer, but it’s quite true. So in this post I want to highlight some questions you should ask yourself in determining your…
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I just don’t have the patience
Bostonians have their own way of getting from A to B. If the walk sign is red and there are no cars, you bet that we’re going to cross the street (the ticket is just $1, I think I can afford that). When two lanes merge into one, we always use both lanes and zipper…
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Curb to Gate in 10 Minutes or Less
Ahhhh, the airport. I know it sounds crazy, but I really do feel at home when I get to the airport for a flight. I see a lot of people get super stressed out when it comes to travel. Here’s my guide to cruise through the terminal smoothly and efficiently. Get off the train, through…
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Know thy airports – flexibility can help you
There are plenty of cities with multiple accessible airports: NYC has LGA, EWR, and JFK. Boston has BOS and PVD. LA has LAX, SNA, BUR, ONT, LGB, etc. Chicago has ORD and MDW. Miami has MIA and FLL. Flights out of one airport may cost you more, so searching across different airports during booking is…
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Which hotel chain is the “best” for you?
The big hotels chains (Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG) all operate on their own rules (some good, some bad). If you’ve listened to me yap about valuations in the past, you would know that most of us value Hyatt as the best program. But Hyatt’s aren’t everywhere, so is it even worth it? I’ll compare some…
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My Thoughts on the new DOT Delay Refund Rules
Quite a few people have reached out asking me for my opinions on the new flight delay and cancellation law. In short, it’s a step in the right direction. But it misses a lot of the key points for both consumer and airlines alike. It’s also structured rather differently than current regulations elsewhere in the…
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Amtrak Acela – a bit tired but easy and comfortable
This week my travels bring me to see some friends in New York. So while I love making plane posts and traveling through space and time, Amtrak takes the win for convenience in this case. My office and hotel were both in the heart of Manhattan, so arriving at Penn Station was a better choice…
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My thoughts on the Capital One and Discover merger
There are plenty of articles about the Capital One merger with Discover. At a high level, the deal is both good and bad for consumers. Here are some of my thoughts on the matter. Current Trajectory Capital One entered the premium travel space with the launch of the Venture X card. They are competing with…
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Chase Sapphire Lounge BOS: The best lounge in the US right now?
Chase has finally entered the premium card lounge scene with the Chase Sapphire Lounge. The one in Hong Kong received glowing reviews after it opened, so they already set a high bar for themselves. Well, they absolutely nailed it! Honestly, I’d even visit this lounge if I weren’t flying (which is TOTALLY not what I…
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The Club LAS T3: Simple and a little lonely
Have you ever heard the phrase “once you’ve had better, you can’t go back”? That’s 100% what my experience was like with airport lounges. Having visited the Centurion and Capital One Lounges, comparing them with The Club is just a little bit unfair. I’m probably just setting the bar too high 🙂 Access The Club…
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What Happened on My Wicked IRROPS Experience on Southwest
I just had a pretty tiring day flying cross-country between Boston and Seattle. On top of an already long travel day, a mechanical issue caused me to arrive over 4 hours after my original schedule. This is my story on how Irregular Operations (IRROPS) took away the first day of my trip. A few key…
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Southwest Airlines B737-800 LAS-STL: It’s unique but average
There’s the Southwest loyalists and then there’s also the haters. Well, I’m kind of right in the middle. Here’s my first write up of the year about making it back home.
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Doh! Devaluation of the best domestic redemption rate
A few weeks ago I wrote about one of the sweetest redemptions for domestic itineraries. It involves booking United domestic Saver (X) award tickets through Turkish Airlines for 7.5k miles. You can read a little about it here. Well, that may soon be coming to an end with potential devaluation upcoming. Update (02/08): I’ve confirmed…
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Introduction: New year, new research opportunities
That’s right, it’s 2024, and this new year is full of opportunities to try something new. Airline free agency isn’t something most of us are used to, but it’s a good idea to see what you’re missing out on (or not, for that matter) Why I took this trip If you recall, I went back…
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Credit Cards – The Good, Bad, Myths, and Value
You may be starting your journey and figuring out if credit cards really are for you. I’ll guide you through my rationale for you to see!
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The Best Redemptions for Amazing Economy Travel Value
Redemptions for lower-priced Economy tickets is easier than you think. Stretch your points and you could get outsized value!