Category: Travel Tips

Personal tips for saving money and enjoying your travels more.

illustration of woman sitting in a lounge
Travel Tuesday: Google Flights is a Adding Money-Saving Feature
Travelers who are looking at flight options and fares have often found Google Flights to be a useful tool. Now, thanks to some updates, the service could further help flyers save some money on bookings. This week, Google Flights announced that it would be upgrading the insights it provides to users. This includes giving flyers...
World of Hyatt
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...
Epcot Center monorail
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...
Models of Hilton Project 3 and Marriott MidX extended stay hotels
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...
Sleeper Holder features
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...
Sapphire Lounge entrance
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...
inside a Hyatt Studios room
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...
American Airlines plane
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...
a dog traveling in a car
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...
Bilt + point.me logos
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...
Las Vegas skyline
Travel Tuesday: 3 Reasons Why Vegas is Perfect for Your Amex FHR Credit
When American Express revamped its Platinum card in 2021, one of the additions was a $200 annual credit that could be used for Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts or Hotel Collections bookings. Personally, I found this to be one of the best credit offerings, but I was surprised to see some who disagreed. Perhaps my...
travel tuesday top 7 2022
Travel Tuesday: My 7 Favorite Travel Tuesday Posts of 2022
For many Americans, 2022 marked a true return to travel. And while, as I write this, air travel is snarled and looking rather nightmarish, the year turned out to be pretty decent for the industry and travelers alike. As for me, during the year, I reviewed a number of hotel rooms, accessories, and more while...
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Travel Tuesday: The Club ATL Grab & Go Pantry Lounge Review
Last week, I set off for San Francisco from my home in Springfield, Missouri. But, since I was flying Delta, I of course needed to make a stop in Atlanta before my flight back in the correct direction. Over the years, I've spent plenty of time at ATL, so when something new pops up, I...
4 Daily Games I Play That Somehow Make Me Feel Smart
Remember a few years ago when Wordle took the world by storm? Well, after that, it seemed that several other daily games popped up as well. Over time, the lineup of games I actually bother to play daily has evolved — but there are a few that I keep returning to. That's probably because, even...
Hotel Vandivort Review: Springfield, Missouri's Four Diamond Boutique Hotel
When it comes to my Travel Tuesday hotel review series, I often wonder what travels might be featured in my latest installment. That's when it hit me that: instead of looking to other cities for adventure, I could feature a property found right here in Springfield, Missouri.  Hotel Vandivort is a unique boutique hotel we’d...
I'm 40 and Finally Figured Out How to Properly Shave My Face
For a good portion of my mid to late 20s, I made my living pretending to be in high school for television. As it turns out, part of the reason why I could pass for younger is that I can't grow a beard to save my life. Unfortunately, this lack of growth also means that,...