Travel
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Travel Tuesday: Hyatt and MGM are Ending Their Partnership
One of the great ironies of travel loyalty programs is that, in many cases, you can actually leverage your loyalty status across other brands as well. Thanks to status matching, I’ve been able to enjoy a number of travel perks I certainly didn’t earn on my own. Unfortunately, some previous opportunities have been going away…
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Travel Tuesday: The Increasingly Complicated World of Disney Parks Bookings
Once upon a time, visiting Disneyland or Walt Disney World was pretty straightforward: you’d buy tickets for the parks (or paid an entry fee and bought a ticket book if you’re really old school), show up, and wait in line for the rides you wanted to experience. Well, those days are long gone. First, there…
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Travel Tuesday: Even More Extended Stay Hotel Brands Are Coming
A couple of months ago, I wrote about Hyatt’s plans to launch a new imprint called Hyatt Studios. This brand — which the company bills as its first “upper-midscale” concept — is meant to appeal to extended-stay travelers and, in turn, will include such features as a full-sized fridge, multi-function convection microwaves, stovetop burners, and…
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Travel Tuesday: I Kickstarted a New Travel Product
Over the years, Kickstarter has had an interesting trajectory. While it was originally associated with art projects such as independent films (including some that were criticized for using the site to raise money when the creators were perceived as having the ability to self-finance… whether or not that was actually true) and musical albums, it…
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Travel Tuesday: Understanding Chase’s New Sapphire Lounge
When Chase announced that it was opening a number of airport lounges in partnership with The Club, there were several questions I and others had. At the top of the list, with The Club being a staple of Priority Pass membership, it seemed fair to assume that those with Priority Pass — including those who gained…
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Travel Tuesday: Home2 Suites Chicago McCormick Place Hotel Review
Last month, for the fourth year in a row, my wife and I headed up to the Windy City to attend C2E2. As you may recall, after previously staying downtown and shuttling or driving in to the convention center, we decided to try staying at McCormick Place itself. Having tried the Hyatt Regency last time,…
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Travel Tuesday: Hyatt Introduces Hyatt Studios Brand for Extended Stay
When you’re traveling and looking for a place to stay, you’ll likely see several different brand names pop up in your searches. Yet, in reality, many of these brands really fall under the banner of a few key companies such as Marriott, Hilton, IHG, or Wyndham. The idea is that each of these sub-brands is…
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Travel Tuesday: Curb App Review — Trying the Cab Service in Chicago
When I was in New York last year, it was the first time in a long time that I remember being in a taxi (as opposed to a rideshare like Uber or Lyft). During that ride, I saw an advertisement for an app called Arro, which I then used to hail a cab later in…
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Travel Tuesday: Discovering American Airlines Web Specials
As I’ve admitted several times before, I find the whole “points and miles” game to be pretty intimidating at times. That’s why I’m always excited to find something that I believe I can definitively state is a good deal — and is easy for me to understand. This happens to be the case with American…
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Travel Tuesday: 5 Items Perfect for Traveling with a Dog
Over the past six months, our travel lives have changed a lot. That’s thanks to the fact that we now have a dog, Rigby, who joined our family back in August. Since then, while we haven’t traveled as much as we typically due (in a bid to make sure she got adjusted to her new…
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Travel Tuesday: Finding Award Flights with Bilt’s Point.Me Feature
Earlier this year, I noted that Bilt was one of the top FinTech tools I was keeping an eye on in 2023. That declaration followed a 2022 that saw the company add a number of exciting features and promotions — not to mention that I became a Bilt cardholder last year as well. Now, keeping…
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CLEAR Review: How the Biometric Program Saves You Time in Line
Over the past few years, you may have noticed the service CLEAR growing in prominence. Between its recent partnerships with American Express, its Health Pass being employed by several entities during the pandemic, CLEAR kiosks arriving at more locations, and the company going public, CLEAR is kind of having a moment. So, what exactly is…