Discovering the family friendly Embassy Suites
For one reason or another, we’ve stayed at Embassy Suites two separate times in the past two weeks. I booked the Doubletree near Disney Springs during our daddy daughter delay wh..
Quick hits: hijinks booking Mileage Plan awards on Virgin America
In the last few months I’ve written a couple posts about booking award travel on Virgin America, with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles and with HawaiianMiles, mentioning a few ..
Episode 49 – Family travel fails and more with Shawn Coomer
Episode Description
Shawn Coomer from Miles to Memories is back and we’re talking family travel fails & conflicts, various trips we’ve been on, how your
My Jamaica all-inclusive wasn't annoying for any of the reasons I expected
I got back from Jamaica on Monday night, and had an absolutely marvelous time. On Friday I wrote about some questions I had about the experience, since I’ve never visited
Eight Memorable DisneySMMC Moments
I’m still in the midst of processing the whirlwind Disney Social Media Moms Celebration (DisneySMMC) from last week, my first ever. I hope to reflect on some of the questions
Why you shouldn’t combine Thank You point accounts
If you’re like me, it’s possible you have multiple Thank You point earning credit cards. A couple of years ago, when I first got into Thank You points, I thought
I'm going to Jamaica and I couldn't be more excited
This weekend I’m heading to the Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall for my first international trip of 2017 (and first since being approved for Global Entry). I’m not bringing my computer
Interesting Starwood and Marriott stacking opportunities
I was chatting yesterday with someone who has had a lot of success with Marriott recently, taking advantage of a number of opportunities that currently intersect due to the merger
Daddy, daughter, delays!
I had an amazing time at #DisneySMMC but I’ll post about that another day. Instead, I’m writing about my trip home while it’s still fresh in my mind. On Saturday,
How I think about the Hilton Honors reforms
People are talking about Hilton’s recent announcement that they’ll be eliminating the concept of hotel award categories and charging whatever they think is fair for a free night ..
Targeted: Fast track to AA Elite Status, 35k EQMs for Exec!
Just got a targeted email with significantly reduced EQM/EQD requirements for elite status on American Airline’s AAdvantage program. Only travel between the time you sign-up (wh..
Real Life Family Travel: Compromises
I’ve learned a lot over the past eight years, first through traveling with my wife, then with my daughter, and now as a family of four. It’s easy to blog
Maybe just show up to a Global Entry interview without an appointment
I’ve never had a card that offered Global Entry or Precheck fee reimbursement because I don’t pay $450 annual fees, but a generous reader with many, many more such credits
Rivers of Light Preview Impressions
Disney has had quite a few ups and downs with Rivers of Light. Originally they announced it would debut in 2016, but then it got pushed back to 2017 due
Episode 48 – Hilton Honors and the place of politics
Episode Description
Thanks to the Hilton Honors news, we discuss whether eliminating award charts is really all that bad. Then we discuss whether politics has
What are HawaiianMiles worth?
Hawaiian Airlines is a traditional US carrier that flies between the Hawaiian islands and between Hawaii and the Western United States as well as New York’s JFK airport, and from
Dos and Don’ts on your first day at Walt Disney World
We are officially here for #DisneySMMC and we had a bit of an uneven day. Fun, but uneven. For some reason we prepared less for this trip than our usual,
Sustainability: value, cost, and risk
When a good deal comes along, especially if it doesn’t have a designated expiration date, folks often talk about whether the deal is “sustainable” or not. The general idea is
How I decided between the multitude of travel options to Orlando
For some reason, domestic travel stresses me out more than international travel. Booking the travel, that is. The reasons for this are pretty simple – international travel prese..
Unbonused spend outlook for 2017
Earlier this month I wrote about the BankAmericard Travel Rewards credit card and Bank of America Preferred Rewards Platinum Honors, and favorably compared that combination to so..
Episode 47 – Touring Plans’ Len Testa
Episode Description
We speak to Len Testa, founder of Touring Plans, a travel hacker of another sort. We talk about how Len turned his graduate
Disney considers me a mommy blogger now
So in about a week or so we’ll be going back to Disney World and I’m pretty excited. Why? Because I somehow hoodwinked Disney World’s social media team into inviting
"Lombard Street" is a marvelous little book
This is a review of “Lombard Street: A Description of the Money Market” by Walter Bagehot. You can find all my previous book reviews here. If you’re interested in buying