Using miles and rewards for cheap or free adventures.
Latest Blog Posts
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Japan Airlines B777-300ER Business Class – A unique seat
Itinerary:LAS-LAX 05/30/25 07:05-08:25LAX-HND 05/30/25 13:40-17:25(+1) The American AAdvantage program prices all international tickets the same, regardless of where in the US you originate from. So a Saver Award from LAX to NRT costs the same as an itinerary with three legs. part about AA is that once you book a flight, you are able to
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OneWorld Business Class Lounge LAX Review
After spending a few hours at the Flagship Lounge, I decided to take a quick peek at the OneWorld Lounge over at the TBIT. It’s convenient for international flights and pretty large, but lacks natural lighting and isn’t a very welcoming lounge. Lounge rules require a same-day international business class ticket on a OneWorld carrier
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American Airlines Flagship Lounge LAX Review
While I visit credit card lounges most often (Capital One Lounges, to be exact), I always try to visit new lounges when I have the opportunity to. On this trip to Bali, I booked in business class. Flagship lounge access rules dictate that you must be flying in a domestic First marketed as “Flagship” or
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I finally did it – Titanium is mine!
After missing the mark by just a few nights last year, I was finally able to pass Platinum with Marriott and achieve Titanium status, good from now until the end of 2026. This is the first year I’ve ever achieved this status level, so I’ll have to see how it is! How I Got Here
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Not all seats are made the same
Everyone always focuses on the redemption aspect, the “how do I get there?”. But even if you get the chance to book a flight, you still have to choose the right seat. Otherwise, your experience could go from positive to satisfactory simply with the position of where you are on the plane. A few case
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The Hotel Breakfast Game
Ahh – watery rubber eggs, frozen sausage patties, and the beeping waffle machine – all signs that I am right where I belong… …Ok not really. That’s lunacy – but the reality of most hotel breakfasts in the US. We’ve all gotten so used to the terrible offerings of a simple Fairfield Inn that anything
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Air France A350 Business Class – Step above the rest
After one fantastic trip around Europe, my return flight was a bit of a nail-biter. I had found saver premium economy award space on Air France for Christmas Eve. The trouble was making it back across the Atlantic and finding a connecting itinerary onwards to Las Vegas, all in time for Christmas with my family.
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Air France B777 Business Class – A Solid Product
Honestly wasn’t planning much for this trip, but since my mom had preemptively transferred miles (*groan*) and they were about to expire, I couldn’t let it just go to waste 🙂 TRIP Itinerary Booking this trip This trip was booked as a married segment, which means that the airline favors connecting itineraries as opposed to
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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