Category: Travel Tips

Personal tips for saving money and enjoying your travels more.

luxury hotel pool
Travel Tuesday: What to Know About Amex’s Fine Hotels + Resorts Program
Just a couple of weeks before the pandemic shut down much of the United States to travel, I wrote about my experience booking a room in Chicago using American Express's Hotel Collection. At the time, I assumed that this offering was pretty similar to the fancier-sounding Fine Hotels + Resorts program, with the latter merely...
foreign currency origami
Travel Tuesday: 4 Ways to Obtain and Use Foreign Currency
At the time that I write this, international travel is still a no-go for us Americans. Despite this, I haven't stopped thinking about my (hopeful) upcoming travels nor halted my reflections back on my past adventures. Among the aspects I've been considering lately is how my M.O. while traveling has evolved over the years —...
Ceasars statue
Travel Tuesday: Visiting Las Vegas in a Pandemic
Over the past few months, I’ve been pondering when I would be able to travel again. Then, just a couple of weeks ago, my wife and I started discussing some possibilities for trips we could take while still feeling comfortable and safe. That’s when we decided upon a destination: Las Vegas, Nevada. Cut to this...
Tokyo train tracks
Travel Tuesday: 3 Silly Little Things I Love About Tokyo
As the current crisis continues, I keep reflecting and relying on my old travel memories to get me by. Lately, this has led me to reflect on my time spent in Tokyo, Japan — a favorite of mine for a long time. Not only was it the destination for my first-ever solo international trip but...
woman traveler in front of a stop sign
Travel Tuesday: Don't Let a Good Deal Pressure You Into Traveling Again
As we enter month five of quarantine, the number of canceled trips continues to grow. What's more, while some of us may have been optimistic about the possibility of autumn trips back in March (like when I moved my plane tickets to Paris from April to September), those hopes have since been dashed. Nevertheless, even...
Paris skyline
Travel Tuesday: My Favorite Things About Paris
Welp. With the coronavirus pandemic outlook in America not looking much better, it looks as though we'll be canceling our trip to Paris for the second time (we were booked for March and pushed it to September when things seemed like they'd be better). Le sigh. While I don't mean to complain about my lack...
holding a US passport
Travel Tuesday: Will Other Countries Welcome Americans Back?
A few weeks ago, I pondered when we might be able to travel again. While that post explored some of the latest news on that front including continued travel restrictions, one thing I didn't quite consider is that being allowed in a country and being welcome in a country are two different things. So, with...
view of hotel
Travel Tuesday: When Will We Travel Again?
They say that, if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans. That's proving especially true in 2020 as a global pandemic has all but shut down economies around the globe. Needless to say, it's also hit the travel industry especially hard. But are we getting closer to exploring the world outside of...
travel illustration
Travel Tuesday: AmEx Adds Practical Perks to Appease Travel Cardholders
Just a few months ago, I decided to apply for the American Express Platinum Card after determining that its travel benefits were worth the hefty $550 annual fee. That opinion was further justified as I got to sample a number of perks on a few trips late last year and early this year. Well, the...
airport lounge
Travel Tuesday: Silly But Genius Travel Gift Ideas from Airportag
A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about some intriguing travel products I've found thanks to ads on Instagram. Well, after I published that, I realized I had left out a few other items that have caught my eye as well. As it turns out, many of these actually came from the same site:...
view of clouds from a plane
Travel Tuesday: Is Your Airline or Hotel Status Being Extended?
I'm going to take a shot in the dark and guess that, if you're reading this post around the time it was initially published, you haven't been traveling much lately. For frequent travelers, not only is this a change of pace that may make cabin fever even more impactful but may also lead some to...
collage of travel products found on Instragram
Travel Tuesday: 5 Interesting Travel Products I've Seen Advertised on Instagram
Well, there's no getting around it: now is not a great time for travel. I suppose that means I choose the wrong time to start a bi-weekly travel series... but I'm committed to keeping up that schedule. So, instead of focusing on travel itself this week, I thought it'd be fun to take a look...
Featured Articles
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,...